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We May Be Surrounded by Trillions of Conscious Beings, Research Suggests—And They Aren’t Human
Yahoo News ^ | June 11, 2026 | Susan Lahey

Posted on 10/07/2026 4:01:12 AM PDT by Pontiac

Human beings tend to be anthropocentric.

That is, we often see ourselves as evolution's magnum opus despite the fact that, as biomass goes, we're insignificant compared to plants and other animals.

For instance, scientists estimate that there are more than three trillion trees on Earth—a number that even dwarfs the amount of stars in our galaxy. And when you add the populations of the more than 380,000 other plant species, the total becomes mind-boggling.

Nonetheless, many of us assume that we're the smartest, most conscious beings on Earth.

But what if consciousness isn't a feature limited solely to humans—and what if we're actually wildly outnumbered by a planet full of other conscious beings? As it turns out, a handful of studies suggest that might just be the case.

For starters, plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, PhD, notes that plants respond to anesthesia the same way humans do—they become nonresponsive.

Humans tend to think of plants as nonresponsive anyway, because they don't generally move in human timescales.

But when scientists have administered anesthesia to plants that do operate "quickly" by human measures, such as the Venus Flytrap, the plant stops responding when flies land on it.

And while you won't see a plant fleeing danger the way we do, some have been found to be gradually migrating north as the planet warms, just as animals are changing their migratory patterns.

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: amateurphilosopher; animalhusbandry; anthropocentric; anthropocentricity; cats; consciousness; dogs; epigraphyandlanguage; gaiaworshippers; godsgravesglyphs; nutjobssuggest; pets; plants; ycrap; youmeanlikedemocrats
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To: Pontiac
Nonetheless, many of us assume that we're the smartest, most conscious beings on Earth.

OK, its going to be one of THESE articles. Pray tell, Susan, how humans aren't the smartest, most conscious beings on Earth. Is that question going to result in the standard, banal answer about the hubris of evil man destroying the environment with something about Native Americans living in harmony with nature sprinkled in? That the plants and animals are really smarter than us?

As an aside, there was a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode where a scientist invented a machine that could communicate with plants. He pointed it at a rose garden and heard the roses screaming as a women picked them. It drove him insane.

61 posted on 10/07/2026 6:22:08 AM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard (When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)
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To: chiller

The squirrel and the owl has to be my favorite. Thanks for posting the link!


62 posted on 10/07/2026 6:23:01 AM PDT by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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To: telescope115

Sorry about the second post…


63 posted on 10/07/2026 6:25:56 AM PDT by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
He pointed it at a rose garden and heard the roses screaming as a women picked them.

I bet you would scream too, if someone ripped your gonads off.

64 posted on 10/07/2026 6:31:55 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminisheRs the human spirit.)
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To: telescope115

Perfect!!

LOL


65 posted on 10/07/2026 6:43:44 AM PDT by Chickensoup
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To: Quality_Not_Quantity

I have also encountered more than my share of demonic and unclean spirits. And, they are also impostors, trying to imitate the good beings.


66 posted on 10/07/2026 6:45:40 AM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: Pontiac

Didn’t we go through this nonsense in the 1960s with the claim that plants have “feelings”?


67 posted on 10/07/2026 6:47:17 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (REOPEN THE CLOSED MENTAL HOSPITALS! Closed in the 1970s, murders by crazies sky rocketed!)
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To: trebb

I remember that nonsense from the 1960s. It seems the person who started that was the same one who demanded “CAROLINE, PLEASE CLOTHE YOUR HORSE!” when JFK was in the White House.

The claim was the horse was nude and needed clothes. Hard to believe but they actually got 35 thousand people to sign a petition to clothe the horse.


68 posted on 10/07/2026 6:51:43 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (REOPEN THE CLOSED MENTAL HOSPITALS! Closed in the 1970s, murders by crazies sky rocketed!)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

I remember something about them enjoying classical music.


69 posted on 10/07/2026 6:58:51 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminisheRs the human spirit.)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Cats, dogs...

70 posted on 10/07/2026 7:04:26 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: Sirius Lee

“”””Seeds fall on the ground or are carried by birds. They’ll grow if conditions are favorable or they will not. It’s not indicative of Treebeard however.””””

No kidding, a beginner gardener figures that out in his own front yard, or by putting his healthy or sick house plant in a different room.


71 posted on 10/07/2026 7:06:33 AM PDT by ansel12
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To: tired&retired

“I have also encountered more than my share of demonic and unclean spirits. And, they are also impostors, trying to imitate the good beings.”

As we were reading in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness just this morning, Mrs. Q-N-Q commented that Satan (mis)used Scripture in his attempt to get Jesus to sin.

That is so often true, that every good lie contains a kernel of truth in it. That’s what makes it so believable - the stuff you already agree with makes you more vulnerable to the lies that surround it.


72 posted on 10/07/2026 7:09:55 AM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity ("...for the sake of His name." Psalm 23:3)
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To: Pontiac

Thats true...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAEwQr-hEgI


73 posted on 10/07/2026 7:20:32 AM PDT by MoreMAGA ("See, there's three kinds of people...")
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To: ScottHammett

“ consciousness must first be defined”

Hot topic for AI these days


74 posted on 10/07/2026 7:34:57 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ScottHammett

my own personal theory is that ALL living creatures on Earth [viruses excepted, assuming they are even living creatures] possess some level of consciousness on a continuum of consciousness, from the dimmest consciousnesses of microscopic organisms to the level of consciousness of homo sapiens ...

we live in a symbiotic sea of life and a sea of consciousness ...

my own personal definition of consciousness is that it’s the universal force which can reverse entropy, that is, bring order out of disorder ...

even bacteria bring about order from disorder by consuming molecular foodstuffs and reproducing, thus converting molecular foodstuffs into living organisms ...

many bacteria are also molecular factories that secrete useful substances, such as the bacteria that fix atomic nitrogen or fix atomic cobalt into valuable and essential molecules such as NH4 and Cobalamin, the latter being the sole natural source of Cobalamin which is essential to mammalian life ... plant life, of course, converts CO2 to O2 ...


75 posted on 10/07/2026 7:39:44 AM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: tired&retired
The same techniques allowed communication with Angelic Beings.

I wouldn't be so sure they were angelic if I were you. The bad angels are deceivers.
76 posted on 10/07/2026 7:47:02 AM PDT by Antoninus (Confusion and disorder to the Left.)
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To: Pontiac

Just proves that people who won’t believe what God says in the Bible will readily believe any other nonsense that comes along.


77 posted on 10/07/2026 8:18:33 AM PDT by Democrat = party of treason
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To: Pontiac
This article is a perfect example of anthropomorphism--the attributing of human characteristics to animals or other living things. Most of us grow out of it eventually, but some people persist in it and try to make it sound scientific.


78 posted on 10/07/2026 8:27:22 AM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: Sirius Lee

Trees can communicate through mycelium and promote / prevent seedlings from growing based on things like invasive insects attacking the “parent tree”, in which case they encourage seedlings that are farther away.


79 posted on 10/07/2026 8:28:46 AM PDT by youngidiot (Race is irrelevant to everyone except the racists )
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To: Ciaphas Cain

Ignore him. He’s a delusional cultist with mental issues.


80 posted on 10/07/2026 8:45:31 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux - The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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