Can Plants Really Sense Human Intentions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PIT2
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Detectors Plants
AI Thread Summary
Backster's experiments with a plant involved testing its reactions to perceived threats, specifically by dunking its leaves in hot coffee and later contemplating burning them. He observed that the plant exhibited significant physiological responses on a lie detector, particularly when he thought about burning it, indicating a possible awareness of his intentions. The reactions were less pronounced when he hesitated or merely pretended to act. This led Backster to conclude that plants might possess a form of consciousness or the ability to sense intentions, which he found transformative. However, skepticism surrounds these claims, with some dismissing them as pseudoscience and questioning the implications for dietary choices, particularly for vegetarians.
PIT2
Messages
897
Reaction score
2
Backster wanted to see if the plant would have any other reactions. According to past experience, Backster knew that a good way to elicit a strong reaction from a person is to threaten that person. So Backster dunked the leaves of the plant into hot coffee. No reaction. Then he thought of something more terrifying: burn the leaves that were connected to the lie detector. With this thought, even before he went to get a match, a bullish curve rapidly appeared on the graph paper. When he came back with a match, he saw that another peak appeared on the curve. It was likely that when the plant saw he was determined to start burning, it got frightened again. If he showed hesitation or reluctance to burn the plant, the reactions recorded by the lie detector were not so acute. And when he merely pretended to take action to burn the leaves, the plant had almost no reactions. The plant was even able to distinguish true intentions from false ones. Backster nearly rushed out into the street to shout, “Plants can think! Plants can think!” With this astonishing discovery, his life was changed forever.
http://www.pureinsight.org/pi/articles/2003/3/3/1496.html
Ive known about this story for awhile, but is there any truth to it?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Wha? So plants are not only capable of thought, but they can also read our minds?

The plant had a strong reaction to the guys THOUGHT of getting a match to burn it... Sounds like some new-age fooey my mom would believe.

P.S. She sees peoples aura's... :smile:

Edit: I hope that someone can prove this IS TRUE, then what will the Vegetarians eat?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Similar to the 2024 thread, here I start the 2025 thread. As always it is getting increasingly difficult to predict, so I will make a list based on other article predictions. You can also leave your prediction here. Here are the predictions of 2024 that did not make it: Peter Shor, David Deutsch and all the rest of the quantum computing community (various sources) Pablo Jarrillo Herrero, Allan McDonald and Rafi Bistritzer for magic angle in twisted graphene (various sources) Christoph...
Thread 'My experience as a hostage'
I believe it was the summer of 2001 that I made a trip to Peru for my work. I was a private contractor doing automation engineering and programming for various companies, including Frito Lay. Frito had purchased a snack food plant near Lima, Peru, and sent me down to oversee the upgrades to the systems and the startup. Peru was still suffering the ills of a recent civil war and I knew it was dicey, but the money was too good to pass up. It was a long trip to Lima; about 14 hours of airtime...
Back
Top