[through] a very old magazine.

有次我瀏覽

I found this observation test

一本非常老舊的雜誌。

about the story of the ark.

裡面有一個觀察試驗

And the artist that drew this observation test

是關於諾亞方舟的故事。

did some errors, had some mistakes --

這位作者畫下此實驗的過程

there are more or less 12 mistakes.

而這其中出現了幾個錯誤。

Some of them are very easy.

這裡至少出現了12處的錯誤。

There is a funnel, an aerial part,

有些錯誤非常明顯。

a lamp and clockwork key on the ark.

船上有個煙囪，就是這像天線的部分，

Some of them are about the animals, the number.

還有個照明燈和發條。

But there is a much more fundamental mistake

還有些錯誤是在動物身上。

in the overall story of the ark

這些都是整個方舟故事裡面

that's not reported here.

最常出現的基本錯誤，

And this problem is: where are the plants?

我們不再多做說明。

So now we have God

問題來了：怎麼都沒看到植物?

that is going to submerge Earth permanently

現在我們的上帝

or at least for a very long period,

將要永久性的把地球淹沒，

and no one is taking care of plants.

或說至少會淹沒很長的時間，

Noah needed to take two of every kind of bird,

結果根本沒人關心植物。

of every kind of animal,

諾亞需要照顧任何成對的鳥類，

of every kind of creature that moves,

任何成對的動物，

but no mention about plants.

任何能"行走移動"的成對生物，

Why?

但是根本沒關心到植物。

In another part of the same story,

為什麼會這樣?

all the living creatures

這個故事的另一部分是說，

are just the living creatures

當今所有生物，

that came out from the ark,

都是當時方舟

so birds, livestock and wild animals.

所保護生存下來的種類，

Plants are not living creatures --

像是鳥、家畜、和各種野生動物。

this is the point.

植物不規類在生物的範圍裡。

That is a point that is not

重點就在這裡。

coming out from the Bible,

這就是聖經裡面

but it's something that

沒有點到的地方，

really accompanied humanity.

因為聖經所說的內容

Let's have a look at this nice code

總是與人比較有關。

that is coming from a Renaissance book.

讓我們來看看另一個很棒的編碼圖

Here we have the description

這來自文藝復興時期的一本書。

of the order of nature.

這張圖是在描述

It's a nice description because it's starting from left --

自然界的規律。

you have the stones --

這張圖美妙的地方在於，先從左手邊看起，

immediately after the stones, the plants

世界先從石頭開始，

that are just able to live.

比石頭高階的是

We have the animals that are able to live and to sense,

能夠生長的植物。

and on the top of the pyramid,

再更高階的是能生長而且有知覺的各種動物，

there is the man.

在這金字塔的頂端，

This is not the common man.

就是我們人類。

The "Homo studiosus" -- the studying man.

這可不是一般人。

This is quite comforting

這是"會聆聽的智人"，一種會學習的人。

for people like me -- I'm a professor --

這對於跟我一樣的人來說

this to be over there on the top of creation.

會感到挺欣慰的，因為我是個教授，

But it's something completely wrong.

我們自然而然就在這個頂端。

You know very well about professors.

但是這種概念是完全錯誤的。

But it's also wrong about plants,

大家都知道教授不是這樣高高在上的。

because plants are not just able to live;

這其中對植物的概念也是錯誤的，

they are able to sense.

因為植物不僅僅只是會生長而已，

They are much more sophisticated

它們也是有知覺的。

in sensing than animals.

他們能感受到的知覺

Just to give you an example,

甚至比動物還要更多。

every single root apex

讓我舉個例子，

is able to detect and to monitor

每一個植物根尖(root apex)

concurrently and continuously

能夠同時且持續地

at least 15 different chemical

偵測與監控

and physical parameters.

至少15種不同的

And they also are able to show and to exhibit

化學和物理現象。

such a wonderful and complex behavior

它們也能展現

that can be described just with the term of intelligence.

一種美妙且複雜的行為

Well, but this is something --

這種行為能夠被我們用"智慧"來形容。

this underestimation of plants is something

這些行為，

that is always with us.

這些被忽視的植物所表現的行為，

Let's have a look at this short movie now.

其實都一直在我們眼前展現。

We have David Attenborough.

讓我們先來看一部短片。

Now David Attenborough is really a plant lover;

這位是大衛・艾登堡(David Attenborough)。

he did some of the most beautiful movies

大衛・艾登堡是位喜好植物的人。

about plant behavior.

他拍攝了許多

Now, when he speaks about plants,

有關植物行為的影片。

everything is correct.

他針對植物所作的介紹，

When he speaks about animals,

大致上都是正確的。

[he] tends to remove the fact

當他介紹到動物的時候，

that plants exist.

他會把植物的存在

The blue whale,

給遺忘掉。

the biggest creature that exists on the planet --

他說藍鯨，

that is wrong, completely wrong.

是當今地球上最龐大的生物。

The blue whale, it's a dwarf

這是錯的，大錯特錯。

if compared with the real biggest creature

藍鯨，實際上是個小矮人，

that exists on the planet --

如果牠真的和地球上

that is, this wonderful,

當今最大的生物來做比較的話，

magnificent Sequoiadendron giganteum.

就是這個，令人驚嘆的生物，

(Applause)

雄偉的世界爺(又名巨杉，Sequoiadendron giganteum)。

And this is a living organism

(掌聲)

that has a mass of at least 2,000 tons.

這是個活生生的有機體

Now, the story

重量至少2000頓。

that plants are some low-level organisms

植物

has been formalized

是低等有機體的這件事

many times ago by Aristotle,

已經被亞里斯多德

that in "De Anima" --

傳頌了很長一段時間，

that is a very influential book for the Western civilization --

在他所著的靈魂錄(De Anima)這本書裡，

wrote that the plants are on the edge

這本書在西方文化影響深遠，

between living and not living.

這本書裡提到植物

They have just a kind of very low-level soul.

是介於生命體和非生命體之間。

It's called the vegetative soul,

植物們擁有非常低等級的靈魂。

because they lack movement,

這稱之為植物靈魂(vegetative soul)，

and so they don't need to sense.

因為植物不會移動，

Let's see.

它們也沒有知覺。

Okay, some of the movements of the plants are very well-known.

看看這個。

This is a very fast movement.

沒錯，有些植物的反應動作是眾所皆知的。

This is a Dionaea, a Venus fly trap

這個植物的反應動作非常快速。

hunting snails --

這是一種食蟲植物，捕蠅草

sorry for the snail.

正在補食蝸牛的畫面。

This has been something that has been refused for centuries,

我為蝸牛先生默哀。

despite the evidence.

有些事情被否認了好幾個世紀，

No one can say that the plants were able to eat an animal,

即使證據就在身邊。

because it was against the order of nature.

沒人認為植物能吃動物，

But plants are also able

因為這違反自然界的定律。

to show a lot of movement.

但實際上，植物

Some of them are very well known, like the flowering.

是能夠展現許多動作的。

It's just a question to use some techniques

有些是眾所皆知的，像是開花過程。

like the time lapse.

這需要一些手法才能顯現，

Some of them are much more sophisticated.

像是用間歇性拍攝(time lapse)。

Look at this young bean

有一些植物的運動是非常複雜的。

that is moving to catch the light every time.

像是這個初生的豆苗，

And it's really so graceful;

它葉片每次的移動都是為了能獲取陽光。

it's like a dancing angel.

非常優美。

They are also able to play --

像是個在跳舞的天使。

they are really playing.

植物們也是可以表演的。

These are young sunflowers,

瞧瞧這群正在表演的。

and what they are doing

這些是一群初生的向日葵，

cannot be described

它們正在做的

with any other terms than playing.

並沒辦法用

They are training themselves,

任合表演形式的名詞來描述。

as many young animals do,

它們自己訓練自己，

to the adult life

就像許多年幼的動物一樣，

where they will be called to track the sun

要順利長大成年，

all the day.

它們就必須一整天

They are able to respond to gravity, of course,

都追著太陽跑。

so the shoots are growing

當然，它們也對地心引力有反應，

against the vector of gravity

這些幼苗的發芽成長

and the roots toward the vector of gravity.

就是在對抗地心引力

But they are also able to sleep.

而它的根是順著地心引力生長。

This is one, Mimosa pudica.

同時，植物也會睡眠。

So during the night,

這是一株含羞草。

they curl the leaves

在夜晚時分，

and reduce the movement,

它們會把葉片捲起

and during the day, you have the opening of the leaves --

並減少動作，

there is much more movement.

直到白天，它們才會再打開葉片，

This is interesting

然後做更頻繁的活動。

because this sleeping machinery,

這非常有趣，

it's perfectly conserved.

因為，它們的睡眠機制，

It's the same in plants, in insects

能夠非常完美的保護能量的流失。

and in animals.

植物在這方面的作用，

And so if you need to study this sleeping problem,

跟昆蟲、或是其他動物都一樣。

it's easy to study on plants, for example,

若想研究此類的睡眠問題，

than in animals

從植物身上做研究

and it's much more easy even ethically.

比在動物身上做更為容易，

It's a kind of vegetarian

而且也不會有道德上的疑慮。

experimentation.

在別人看來，

Plants are even able to communicate --

這不過是蔬菜實驗罷了。

they are extraordinary communicators.

植物彼此之間還會對話。

They communicate with other plants.

它們有著非常特殊的溝通器具。

They are able to distinguish kin and non-kin.

它們會和其他種植物溝通。

They communicate

它們能夠區分誰是近親誰不是近親。

with plants of other species

它們會和植物溝通外

and they communicate with animals

還會跟其他物種溝通，

by producing chemical volatiles,

植物們會製造出一種化學物質

for example, during the pollination.

來和其他動物做交談，

Now with the pollination, it's a very serious issue for plants,

舉例來說，就是在受粉的時候。

because they move the pollen from one flower to the other,

受粉這件事情，對植物而言是非常嚴肅的事情，

yet they cannot move from one flower to the other.

因為它們必須把花粉從這朵花移到另一朵花上，

So they need a vector --

但是它們自己做不來這件事情。

and this vector,

所以，植物們需要一個媒介，

it's normally an animal.

這個媒介，

Many insects

就是動物。

have been used by plants as vectors

許多昆蟲

for the transport of the pollination,

被植物們當作一種媒介

but not just insects; even birds, reptiles,

來傳遞花粉，

and mammals like bats rats

但不僅僅是昆蟲，像是鳥類、爬蟲類

are normally used for the transportation of the pollen.

甚至像是蝙蝠鼠這種哺乳動物，

This is a serious business.

也會被當作傳遞花粉的媒介。

We have the plants that are giving to the animals

這真的是一件嚴肅的事。

a kind of sweet substance --

植物會分泌一種甜甜的物質

very energizing --

用以吸引動物們，

having in change this transportation of the pollen.

給與動物們動力

But some plants are manipulating animals,

去做傳播花粉的這份工作。

like in the case of orchids

有些植物是直接操縱動物，

that promise sex and nectar

像是這種蘭花

and give in change nothing

為了傳遞花粉

for the transportation of the pollen.

就會透過性和花蜜的誘惑

Now, there is a big problem

讓動物們甘願為它做這件事情。

behind all this behavior that we have seen.

現在，在我們看過這些行為後，

How is it possible to do this without a brain?

一個大問題就浮現出來了。

We need to wait until 1880,

它們怎麼可能會沒有大腦呢?

when this big man,

我們先回到1880年，

Charles Darwin,

當時有位大人物，

publishes a wonderful, astonishing book

查爾斯・達爾文(Charles Darwin)，

that starts a revolution.

出了一本非常棒、非常精彩的書，

The title is "The Power of Movement in Plants."

這本書也引起了一場革命。

No one was allowed to speak about movement in plants

這本書名為：植物運動的力量(The Power of Movement in Plants)。

before Charles Darwin.

在達爾文之前，

In his book,

沒人會想討論有關植物的運動。

assisted by his son, Francis --

他的這本書，

who was the first professor of plant physiology in the world, in Cambridge --

由他兒子法蘭西(Francis)助力完成，

they took into consideration every single movement

他兒子是世界上第一位，任職於劍橋大學的植物心理學教授，

for 500 pages.

在這500頁的書中，詳細記載了

And in the last paragraph of the book,

植物每一個動作的含意。

it's a kind of stylistic mark,

書的最後一段講述中，

because normally Charles Darwin stored,

是一種語體標記(stylistic mark)，

in the last paragraph of a book,

因為達爾文本身經常使用這種寫法，

the most important message.

書中最後的這段評論，

He wrote that,

是一則非常重要的訊息。

"It's hardly an exaggeration

他這麼寫著：

to say that the tip of the radical

"毫不誇張的說

acts like the brain

植物幼根的頂端

of one of the lower animals."

就像是

This is not a metaphor.

有著低等動物的大腦。"

He wrote some very interesting letters to one of his friends

這不是在隱喻什麼。

who was J.D. Hooker, or at that time, president of the Royal Society,

他寫了許多非常有趣的信件給一位朋友，

so the maximum scientific authority in Britain

在當時是英國皇家學會主席的虎克(J.D. Hooker)，

speaking about the brain in the plants.

他對著英國最高科學權威人物

Now, this is a root apex

說明有關植物的頭腦這件事。

growing against a slope.

畫面上是個植物根尖

So you can recognize this kind of movement,

它正在對抗著這斜坡。

the same movement that worms, snakes

各位可以看出它的這種移動方式，

and every animal

就跟幼蟲、蛇一樣，

that are moving on the ground without legs

甚至是跟任何

is able to display.

不用雙足在地面移動的動物一樣，

And it's not an easy movement

他們都是這樣。

because, to have this kind of movement,

這種移動方式可不容易，

you need to move different regions of the root

因為，要做出這種動作，

and to synchronize these different regions

在沒有大腦的情形下，

without having a brain.

必須要移動根部的不同區域，

So we studied the root apex

同時要做出同步一致性。

and we found that there is a specific region

所以我們開始研究植物尖根這個部份，

that is here, depicted in blue --

我們發現這部分有個非常特別的區域，

that is called the "transition zone."

就在這裡，用藍色標示的地方，

And this region, it's a very small region --

稱為轉變區(transition zone)。

it's less than one millimeter.

這個區域非常微小。

And in this small region

小於1公厘。

you have the highest consumption

在這個微小的區域

of oxygen in the plants

是植物體內

and more important,

氧氣消耗量最大的地方，

you have these kinds of signals here.

更重要的是，

The signals that you are seeing here are action potential,

這個區域會發出一些訊息。

are the same signals

這些訊息會出現動作電位(action potential)，

that the neurons of my brain, of our brain,

這種訊息

use to exchange information.

和人類大腦神經元在交換資訊時所發出的

Now we know that a root apex

是一樣的。

has just a few hundred cells

現在我們知道植物尖根

that show this kind of feature,

僅擁有數百個細胞

but we know how big

就能展現這種特質

the root apparatus of a small plant, like a plant of rye.

我們了解到

We have almost

植物尖根在小小的植物體內佔了多大的地位。

14 million roots.

以一株黑麥為例，它就有著將近

We have 11 and a half million

1400萬支根。

root apex

而且擁有1150萬個

and a total length of 600 or more kilometers

植物尖根

and a very high surface area.

總長度超過600公里

Now let's imagine

涵蓋著非常廣大的區域。

that each single root apex

想像一下

is working in network with all the others.

每一株植物尖根

Here were have on the left, the Internet

與其它尖根共同在這個網絡中運作著。

and on the right, the root apparatus.

現今網際網路就像左手邊的這張圖，

They work in the same way.

而右邊是植物的根部圖。

They are a network

它們運作的方式相當類似。

of small computing machines,

這就像是