On 19 Apr 2004 11:15:54 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article yrOgc.45$oI2.0@newsfe1-win,
"Andy Hunt" writes:
| So how do plants know which way is 'up', then, when they are germinating in
| the dark . . . ? Does this not imply some sort of perceptive and
| decision-making capability, albeit on a fairly mundane level?

No. It slightly goes against the grain to recommend anything by
Richard Dawkins (he is widely regarded as a pain in the a*** by
other scientists), but his books do explain how this for of thing
develops without consciousness.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Any textbook on basic botany will do as well.
Dawkins does tend to take a good idea and stretch it to the limit. But I
think his ideas are generally sound. Thought provoking at the least.

Andy,
Dawkin's book The Blind Watchmaker is a good example of what Nick
suggested.
--
Tim C.