The Intelligence of Plants...

[rain_gryphon]

Plants learning, and learning, frankly, over a very brief training period.

I seriously doubt that this involves any sort of consciousness or memory of events as an animal would experience it. Certainly there's no playback of past events and modelling of possible outcomes. There's some kind of feedback-capable biochemical timer involved in this. Regardless, it's fascinating to consider.

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So, Elizabeth Warren would like to forgive unpaid college debt. No word on how she plans to compensate the responsible ones who sacrificed for years to be sure that their debt was paid back.

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Looks like the Philippines are gonna send their mighty army to conquer Canada.

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As well as I generally respond to Bernie, it must be admitted that his ideas are insane. Quite apart from the fact that felons are, by their nature, people who are unsuited to help make the rules for society, has he actually given any thought to what would happen in elections in rural counties with large prisons, where prisoners may actually constitute a majority of the county's population?

Comments

[terrycloth]

Felons are people who ran into trouble with the existing rules. They're exactly the people you want helping to fix them.

[rain_gryphon]

I'd accept that for low-level criminals, and victimless criminals, but felonies are generally those crimes (murder, rape, arson, etc) that involve either active malice, or a disregard for harm to others. It's not so much that they disagree with the rules, as the sort of people that they've shown themselves to be.

[moonhare]

Great article on plants! Did I ever post this Dahl story to you?
http://www.council.art/files/C.pdf
It was the first thing that came to mind when I started reading about the Peruvian Flowers (followed by a random thought about the movie The Ruins).

[rain_gryphon]

That's new to me, actually. Thanks!

[allaboutweather.livejournal.com]

Of course she won't pay the responsible ones back. The Dems' favored groups get the freebies and the rest of us pay for everything!