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jart12/08/20247 repliesview on HN

It is so utterly deranged and insane that NYT says plants are making "mournful cries" when the source paper doesn't support that. When I'm hungry the sounds my stomach makes on its own isn't me weeping and wailing. When I'm flatulent that sound is not a joyful scream.


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cycomanic12/08/2024

> It is so utterly deranged and insane

And you are complaining about use of language? You might disagree with the anthromorphism (a rather common technique) used by the author, but your post is hyperbole. I hope you also realise the irony, as you also use anthromorphism.

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brushfoot12/08/2024

Agreed, especially given the idea of plants feeling pain has been used to attempt to discredit or debunk vegetarian ethics—even though it's not true in that sense.

Using a poetic descriptor like "mournful" in this context seems out of place.

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rfw30012/08/2024

The New York Times is relying on their audience's ability to understand that plants are not conscious beings. "Mournful cries" is just an evocative way of describing the auditory signals plants produce under stress—which the article makes clear. I can't understand what's so "deranged and insane" about some stylistic flair.

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insane_dreamer12/08/2024

it’s a colorful descriptive and the NYT isn’t a scientific journal; calm down

dd_xplore12/08/2024

> It is so utterly deranged and insane that NYT says plants are making "mournful cries" when the source paper doesn't support that. When I'm hungry the sounds my stomach makes on its own isn't me weeping and wailing. When I'm flatulent that sound is not a joyful scream.

Nytimes has never been reliable

uoaei12/08/2024

They're a pop news outlet, they assume that the average person isn't questioning the nature of sentience on a regular basis.

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someothherguyy12/08/2024

> NYT says

The author is Gennaro Tomma, a freelance journalist.

https://gennarotomma.it/

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