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smackeyackytoday at 6:57 AM1 replyview on HN

Are you sure? What about a stand of trees whose consciousness might just run extremely slowly compared to ours?


Replies

computablytoday at 7:28 AM

About as sure as one can be. It's neither logically nor physically impossible, but the claim that trees are conscious is practically unfalsifiable and is not supported by any substantive evidence. It has nothing to do with "fast" or "slow," no matter how you poke or prod or slice or dice a tree, there's nothing that suggests a capacity for consciousness. I would be less surprised if my friend's dog started speaking perfect Chinese with an American accent.