Caveat Qui Credit (Latin for Believer Beware)
I was recently asked "What about plant sentience? There are some videos on youtube suggesting that plants can feel.
"Do plants respond to pain"
The video did not say anything about "pain". It talked about "electrical signals" Transmitting electrical signals does not equate to feelings. Electronic devices, synthetic products that build-up static electricity... do not feel pain.
I have not looked at each of the studies covered in the video, so I am unable to fully review the experiment protocols of the experiments.
The video ends with dropping broccoli and a visual of the word "ouch" which is word describing sensing pain, which was not covered as a conclusion of any of the experiments covered in the video.
This video is not representative of the full episode of the MythBusters show! Instead it is a biased and false depiction of the conclusions of the show through the magic of cherry picking video editing!
This ANTI-science video has been edited in a way to be purposefully biased and deceptive!
Checking the show notes I realized that this edited video gives a FALSE perception of the results of the FULL show!
Exibit A: "BUSTED" http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/09/episode_61_deadly_straw_primar.html
Exibit B: "BUSTED" http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/plants-have-feelings
Exibit C: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(paranormal)(paranormal)
Quote from one of the leading proponents of "plant conscientiousness" Daniel Chamovitz, who "Judiciously manipulating similes with dashes of anthropomorphism" states "Plants feel the slightest touch but not pain. “A plant is free from these subjective constraints because it lacks a brain,” Chamovitz writes. “But plants feel mechanical stimulation, and they can respond to different types of stimulation in unique ways.”
http://www.audubon.org/magazine/july-august-2012/review-what-plant-knows
Overview of the nature of "conscientiousness" written by Oliver Sacks. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/apr/24/mental-life-plants-and-worms-among-others
This article focuses on Cleve Backster. The author of "Evidence of a Primary Perception in Plant Life,". "Plants react to physical and chemical stimuli, but there is no justification for claiming that plants are aware of these reactions, that they are self-conscious or conscious beings". http://skepdic.com/plants.html
"Plants Have Feelings, Too" fallacy and the 20 other most common objections to veganism are addressed and debunked here:
http://www.veganfuturenow.com/answering-the-objections-to-veganism/#plants-have-feelings-too
