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Cannabis Forgetting and the Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan

2010 September 12

Contributing writer to the recent York Times Magazine and the author of The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the sector, Michael Pollan delivers this Avenali Lecture on the stories of four familiar plant species: the apple, the tulip, the potato, and cannabis. [1/2003] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7048]

Cannabis Forgetting and the Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan

2010 July 5


Contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and the author of The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan delivers this Avenali Lecture on the stories of four familiar plant species: the apple, the tulip, the potato, and cannabis. [1/2003] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7048]

25 Responses leave one →
  1. MindofaJedi permalink
    July 5, 2010

    I loved the film of this book because it was very entertaining and can expose many people to this subject matter who never would have picked up the book . I bought both . I think all the potheads should let out of jail and all Monsanto employees should take their place .

  2. cheythiya permalink
    July 5, 2010

    44:00– cf amos gitai– “if you want to survive you must forget”

  3. shike67 permalink
    July 5, 2010

    nice comb over :)

  4. XxmattitudexX permalink
    July 5, 2010

    hes so funny you know the man grows mad trees in his yard but dosent want to admit hes a smoker

  5. Lushhdog permalink
    July 5, 2010

    self deception is the key to success. Playing naïve or dumb or ignorant is the easiest thing a person can do. Escapism isn’t real… You are always thinking even if you believe you aren’t. It takes lots of believing to think, but what is thought but a belief? You are make believe. Life is a giant mindfuck, Evil is as evil does! STOP TRYING TO POLICE MY CONSCIOUSNESS!

  6. matthewjcote permalink
    July 5, 2010

    It’s sad that so many of us support the greater cause, yet it remains a fantasy just like a santa claus (matthewjcote)dotcom

  7. juniperusashei permalink
    July 5, 2010

    Unlike alcohol, a substance with 110,000 overdoses annually in the U.S. alone, cannabis has zero overdoses in over 5,000 years of use; in fact, its linked to an increased life expectancy & reduced instances of certain cancers.
    So, why are people losing custody of their children, their homes, jobs, clean records, health insurance, & dignity for choosing to use cannabis?
    Instead of giving billions to drug cartels, let’s boost our economy & stop putting otherwise law-abiding citizens in prisons.

  8. nshapiro69 permalink
    July 5, 2010

    Regulate, Educate, Medicate.

  9. MacGear14 permalink
    July 5, 2010

    This is one of the single most eye-opening pieces of academic literature I’ve ever read involving the way plants work. Truly inspiring- it’s really awesome to see it in video form. I can’t wait to watch!

  10. winstonmatthews permalink
    July 5, 2010

    We’ve got a lot to learn off of plants, and many of us forget to, for a small while ;)

  11. AmericanCritiquer permalink
    July 5, 2010

    Subsidize hemp, not corn!

  12. collinlecam permalink
    July 5, 2010

    @bondservant4Him
    Delta9- Tetrahydrocannabinol is, actually, biochemically toxic to many herbavoires (primary consumers).
    It is only psychoactive, to us, the mammals (or oder of primates), when certain enzymatic reactions occur and, therefore, alter certain chemical balances in the Central Nervous System, mainly.

  13. deafencryption permalink
    July 5, 2010

    no because the body uses enzymes to create heat from material in the form of calories dude.

  14. bondservant4Him permalink
    July 5, 2010

    thc is only active wene heated up so how could it be a plants defense to predators unless the animal lights it up?!?!? wow this dude failed on that one

  15. thewirefield permalink
    July 6, 2010

    I wish everyone was required to watch this.

  16. paxpaul permalink
    July 6, 2010

    Thank you to the UC system for posting this! I’m reading “The Botany of Desire” now, and it’s great to have his speaking voice to go along with his written word. He speaks so simply yet not simplistically. Even though he’s lecturing, he comes across as a storyteller. Groovy! :)

  17. josephortizgarcia permalink
    July 6, 2010

    @slade420 Why you ain’t got no patience with people?!

  18. josephortizgarcia permalink
    July 6, 2010

    Wow!!!!!!!!!! Who is this guy?!!!!!!

  19. TheRealOzzy permalink
    July 6, 2010

    @slade420 just do it man

  20. slade420 permalink
    July 6, 2010

    wanna know what its like to be high, smoke a joint

  21. JCJC2009 permalink
    July 6, 2010

    Awesome. I learn so much from Michael.

  22. VikingStreaker permalink
    July 6, 2010

    @freezazoid: As of 2007, research at Duke shows that the appendix is not “useless”.

    @AmericanPB: Mutations are random

    @Thehatedangel: I wouldn’t say pragmatic is the best word, but it is true that after random occurrences such as mutation, evolution proceeds vie both random (i.e. drift) and non random (i.e. selection) processes.

    Humans, in Pollan’s examples are driving selection.

  23. worthmoremusic permalink
    July 6, 2010

    Yes he did….it was based on his book

  24. Thehatedangel666 permalink
    July 6, 2010

    “Everyone likes to think that mutations occur because of some for knowledge of what will happen. If the mutation just happens to help… it stays. If it hurts…. it goes. If it does nothing… it may stay or go, like an appendix.”

    I agree.

    “THC evolved… like there MUST be a reason that it helped the host, and that’s not necessarily true”

    Did you not watch the video?

  25. freezazoid permalink
    July 6, 2010

    @Thehatedangel666 : Evolution is not pragmatic…. survival is pragmatic.

    Everyone likes to think that mutations occur because of some for knowledge of what will happen. If the mutation just happens to help… it stays. If it hurts…. it goes. If it does nothing… it may stay or go, like an appendix.

    My main point is: The guy in the video is trying to explain why THC evolved… like there MUST be a reason that it helped the host, and that’s not necessarily true.

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