A group of researchers posed a thought experiment, asking if a planet like Earth can have a mind of its own.
The paper was published in the International Journal of Astrobiology. They presented the idea of planetary intelligence, which describes the collective knowledge of an entire planet.
They believe that the concept might help us deal with global issues such as climate change, or even help us discover extraterrestrial life.
The researchers believe that large-scale networks of life could form a vast invisible intelligence that could profoundly alter the condition of the planet.
Humans are one of the primary species driving that change at the moment, they point out, and we may well be irrevocably changing the environmental balance.
Adam Frank, professor of physics at the University of Rochester and co-author of the paper, said in a press release that they don't yet have the ability to respond in the best interests of the planet.
The researchers believe that thought experiments can help humans understand their impact on the Earth and help to better it. They think it could help in the search for aliens.
The ones that didn't kill themselves are the ones we should expect to see.
The power of this line of inquiry is what we need to know to survive the climate crisis.
Can a planet have its own mind? The University of Rochester.
Scientists claim Earth's core is a weird new state of matter.
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