So I watched this, posted a comment, and I had to login, which deleted my comment, so I'm not gonna type out a whole thesis on this like I did last time. The main thing I did not like from this video was the fact that Michael Pollan was personified the four pants like they had human characteristics or something. No, the plants adapted those traits to spread themselves all around the world through evolution. It's science! Plants don't think and don't have consciousness.
Sorry, Miss Linda, I was planning on retyping my review this past week, but I ended up not having enough time to on account of the fact that I missed the entire week of classes. Anyways, the entire premise of the video is that these four plants, the apple, tulip, cannabis, and the potato evolved in an effort to survive each plant's species. Each of the plants have their own characteristic that makes it desirable to humans.
Humans are infatuated with weed (cannabis) because of the ingestion of the plant causes awesome alterations to ones consciousness. The video says that this "high"" is attributed to the molecule THC, which was discovered in Jerusalem in 1964. ( I found it funny that the scientist used his friends to test this certain compound's affect on human concioussness). Apparently, a previously unknown receptor protein in the brain combines with THC.
The potato is said to be seen as control by Michael Pollan, the narrator of the documentary. He says that the potato gives us as a race control over nature so that we can feed ourselves. I'd like to point out the fact that the potato is one of the most satieting foods known to man. That is, the potato gives us a feeling of fullness, as well as being rich with nutrients, so I somewhat disagree with the potato being seen as "control," even though the potato is obviously seen in the video as being a source of food. If I'm not being clear, then all I'm trying to say is that of all of the foods to feed hunger, the potato is by far one of the BEST. (There are actually around 5000 varieties of the potato in Peru.)
The apple, of course, is one of the sweetest foods we can eat, which is why it is so popular. Actually, when you stop eating artificial foods and candy, apples taste BETTER than those artificial sugar filled abominations. And lastly, the tulip looks beautiful, which causes people to want to plant more of them in their own gardens and such.
All of these desirable characteristics allowed the plants to go from being isolated in one region to being spread throughout the world. It's quite funny when you think about it: we never really consider where things are domesticated because you can find them anywhere you want. for example, the potato is originally only indigenous to South America, but its local popularity enabled it to be bought and sold over an increasingly expansive territory up until the point when it was globalized. The same process is true for the three other plants. Michael Pollan basically personifies the plants to the point where it seems like they actually have consciousness. He touches on how the plants adapted and evolved to be more attractive to humans, which made humans want to spread them around the globe. While I do not like this idea because plants do not have neither minds nor brains, what I DO think is interesting is that the plants just happened to evolve to satisfy the MASTER race, humans. At the time in which humans spread these plants around the world, I don't think that humans were the most populous animals or creatures. Which makes you wonder why the plants evolved to be attractive to us. They certainly didn't "know" that the humans would be able to spread them. How did cannabis know that humans' brains create a compound that works just like THC?
What I attribute this to is simple probability. Evolution and natural selection say that the strongest attributes and traits survive, which enable a species to change over time. Well, I think that these certain plants that just happened to have the certain characteristics (sweet apples, dopy marijuana, satisfying potatoes, and pretty tulips) were picked by humans, while the others were left behind to die. This caused the favorable species of the plants to spread throughout the world, while the ones without the attractive features eventually dwindled in numbers and are no longer in existence today. So my main point is that the spread of these plants is more to due with probability and the actions of humans more so than the plants themselves somehow "reading our minds" and evolving. For example, the video says that wild potatoes are often poisonous. The only way for humans to know which ones were safe and edible were for the humans themselves to experiment with their bodies, seeing which ones would make themselves sick and/or die, and knowing not to touch those. This process caused these poisonous potatoes to more or less die out in the realm of humans, with the humans domesticating the wild potatoes that were safe and edible. This actually makes a lot of sense and is a valid scientific theory. Have you ever eaten a meaty apple or smoked cush that didn't get you high? Yeah, neither have I.
So I watched this, posted a comment, and I had to login, which deleted my comment, so I'm not gonna type out a whole thesis on this like I did last time. The main thing I did not like from this video was the fact that Michael Pollan was personified the four pants like they had human characteristics or something. No, the plants adapted those traits to spread themselves all around the world through evolution. It's science! Plants don't think and don't have consciousness.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Miss Linda, I was planning on retyping my review this past week, but I ended up not having enough time to on account of the fact that I missed the entire week of classes. Anyways, the entire premise of the video is that these four plants, the apple, tulip, cannabis, and the potato evolved in an effort to survive each plant's species. Each of the plants have their own characteristic that makes it desirable to humans.
ReplyDeleteHumans are infatuated with weed (cannabis) because of the ingestion of the plant causes awesome alterations to ones consciousness. The video says that this "high"" is attributed to the molecule THC, which was discovered in Jerusalem in 1964. ( I found it funny that the scientist used his friends to test this certain compound's affect on human concioussness). Apparently, a previously unknown receptor protein in the brain combines with THC.
The potato is said to be seen as control by Michael Pollan, the narrator of the documentary. He says that the potato gives us as a race control over nature so that we can feed ourselves. I'd like to point out the fact that the potato is one of the most satieting foods known to man. That is, the potato gives us a feeling of fullness, as well as being rich with nutrients, so I somewhat disagree with the potato being seen as "control," even though the potato is obviously seen in the video as being a source of food. If I'm not being clear, then all I'm trying to say is that of all of the foods to feed hunger, the potato is by far one of the BEST. (There are actually around 5000 varieties of the potato in Peru.)
The apple, of course, is one of the sweetest foods we can eat, which is why it is so popular. Actually, when you stop eating artificial foods and candy, apples taste BETTER than those artificial sugar filled abominations. And lastly, the tulip looks beautiful, which causes people to want to plant more of them in their own gardens and such.
All of these desirable characteristics allowed the plants to go from being isolated in one region to being spread throughout the world. It's quite funny when you think about it: we never really consider where things are domesticated because you can find them anywhere you want. for example, the potato is originally only indigenous to South America, but its local popularity enabled it to be bought and sold over an increasingly expansive territory up until the point when it was globalized. The same process is true for the three other plants. Michael Pollan basically personifies the plants to the point where it seems like they actually have consciousness. He touches on how the plants adapted and evolved to be more attractive to humans, which made humans want to spread them around the globe. While I do not like this idea because plants do not have neither minds nor brains, what I DO think is interesting is that the plants just happened to evolve to satisfy the MASTER race, humans. At the time in which humans spread these plants around the world, I don't think that humans were the most populous animals or creatures. Which makes you wonder why the plants evolved to be attractive to us. They certainly didn't "know" that the humans would be able to spread them. How did cannabis know that humans' brains create a compound that works just like THC?
ReplyDeleteWhat I attribute this to is simple probability. Evolution and natural selection say that the strongest attributes and traits survive, which enable a species to change over time. Well, I think that these certain plants that just happened to have the certain characteristics (sweet apples, dopy marijuana, satisfying potatoes, and pretty tulips) were picked by humans, while the others were left behind to die. This caused the favorable species of the plants to spread throughout the world, while the ones without the attractive features eventually dwindled in numbers and are no longer in existence today. So my main point is that the spread of these plants is more to due with probability and the actions of humans more so than the plants themselves somehow "reading our minds" and evolving. For example, the video says that wild potatoes are often poisonous. The only way for humans to know which ones were safe and edible were for the humans themselves to experiment with their bodies, seeing which ones would make themselves sick and/or die, and knowing not to touch those. This process caused these poisonous potatoes to more or less die out in the realm of humans, with the humans domesticating the wild potatoes that were safe and edible. This actually makes a lot of sense and is a valid scientific theory. Have you ever eaten a meaty apple or smoked cush that didn't get you high? Yeah, neither have I.