Personification of Trees | Jared Farmer

TL;DR

Many books personify trees, but scientists find it uncomfortable as trees are fundamentally different from humans.

Transcript

• Janet asks, "Do you think trees get lonely?" - No, because trees don't have feelings. (all laughing) I have mixed feelings about a lot of the books. There was kind of like a peak tree moment. I wanna say my books kind of missed it. My publisher's unhappy about it, but like, maybe five to 10 years ago, it was like peak tree, right? There was so ma... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌲 There was a surge of books on trees in the past decade, including notable examples by Peter Wohlleben and Richard Powers.
• 🌲 Trees are modular organisms with distinct life cycles, making them significantly different from humans.
• 🥺 Personifying trees can lead to misunderstandings about their true nature and behaviors.
• 😐 Some people argue that certain tree-related concepts reinforce gender stereotypes and prefer more neutral language.
• 🌲 The limitations of human imagination make it challenging to accurately describe the complexity of trees and their communication abilities.
• 🌲 The author embraces the tension between skepticism and the deep history of personifying trees.
• 🧑‍🔬 There is ongoing debate among scientists, feminists, and feminist scientists about the most appropriate metaphors to use in tree-related discussions.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why do scientists find personifying trees uncomfortable?

Scientists find personifying trees uncomfortable because trees are fundamentally different from humans, and personification may lead to misunderstandings about their nature and behaviors.

Q: What does the author think about personifying trees?

The author is skeptical of personification but recognizes the deep history of people personifying trees. They believe that as long as we acknowledge the limitations of our imagination, personification can be accepted.

Q: Why do some people object to the concept of "Mother Tree"?

Some people object to the concept of "Mother Tree" because it may reinforce gender stereotypes, suggesting that caring and nurturing are exclusively women's work. They believe it is important to be careful with the metaphors used in tree-related concepts.

Q: How does the author prefer to refer to trees in their book?

The author chooses to refer to trees as "Old Ones" in their book, capitalizing the term. They grew tired of the gender-specific names like Grandmother Trees and Grandfather Trees, wanting a more neutral term.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• There was a peak in literature focused on trees a few years ago, but the author's books missed it.

• Trees are modular organisms that do not live and die like humans, making personification problematic.

• The author acknowledges the tension between personification and the deep history of people personifying trees.