The Light Eaters

Are plants intelligent? It’s the complex and surprisingly controversial question at the heart of journalist Zoë Schlanger’s revelatory debut, The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. Much of the controversy, the author explains, stems from the pseudoscience in the popular 1973 book The Secret Life of Plants. To get to the bottom of a debate raging among botanists, Schlanger casts herself as the Sherlock Holmes of the plant kingdom, examining the most recent scientific data to figure out whether fauna actually possess “consciousness”—and what that ultimately means for the rest of us. The Light Eaters is an enchanting read that will compel you to consider the well-being of your humble houseplant.

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