What a Plant Knows 《植物知道生命的答案》

Daniel Chamovitz, Changjiang Literature Art Publishing House
丹尼尔·查莫维茨，长江文艺出版社

By Yanyun Wang

TThis book is published by the most famous science magazine Scientific American, and written by renowned biologist Daniel Chamovitz. However What a Plant Knows is not a boring popular science book, it contains the love of human and nature, it shares the sense of curious and it teaches the readers how to contact with nature. In Eight Minutes Reading, the host Liang Wendao recommends this book also, and he said,’If the plant can feel the world like us, then our human life will be different, and the relationship between human being and plant will change entirely.’Actually this is just a way to emphasize the importance of plant, but in fact, the inside world of plant is much more complicated than we think. We learned about the turnsole and photosynthesis, but to analyzed these theories, the scientists need meticulous care, the tough volition and undaunted spirit.

Getting into the unknown world which Daniel shows to the readers needs a peaceful heart, and it tells us that the plant can see, can smell, can feel, have memory and can positon. When you are reading this book, it feels like you are in a unfamiliar planet, you are addicted to explore her secrets. I believe that you will be deeply moved by the nature. You might want to know where are the coffee beans from, when you are drinking latte; you might imagine what kinds of plants’cells are in your paper, as you are reading; you might hope the water can feel your joy, while you are swimming. Because we have respect for nature, we keep curious in plant, and the curiosity can create harmony between human beings and nature.

本书由世界科普杂志第一品牌《科学美国人》出品，作者则是著名的自然科学家——丹尼尔?查莫维茨，但这并不是一本冷冰冰的科普书，它所散发的人文关怀无处不在，它充分满足读者的好奇心，它教会读者倾听世界。梁文道曾经在“开卷八分钟”栏目中推荐过此书，他说“如果它（植物）真的能够感知到这个世界，那整个我们人类的生活会改变的，我们跟植物的关系会彻底被改变掉.”当然，这只是一种夸张，但是植物的内心世界的确比我们想象的要复杂。我们知道植物的向阳性，植物的光合作用，但这背后的科学研究需要的是一颗细致的心和坚韧的科学精神。

丹尼尔在书里展示的是一个需要用心倾听的世界：植物会看、会闻、会触摸、有记忆、能定位，读者仿佛置身于一个从未听说的星球，一步一步地在发掘这颗星球最吸引人的秘密。 我相信，在喧闹的都市中，这本书会触及您的灵魂深处。在喝咖啡的时候，也许您会思考这些咖啡豆来自哪个大洲来自哪片土壤；在翻阅众多的文件的时候，也许您会幻想这张纸里有哪种植物的细胞；在泳池里徜徉的时候，也许您会希望纯净的水也能感受您的愉悦。我们对植物的好奇，代表着我们对自然的尊重，也正是因为这份好奇，人与自然才能和谐相处。

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