[Earwig]

By what measure does an oak tree "know" about any of these things?

If it does under definition X, do I also "know" about the microbiome in my own body under definition X? The nutrient mix of the food I eat, the oxygen content of the air I breathe?

[ethbr0]

It changes its own processes in response to those quantities.

And certainly, you know your own microbiome!

But I'm assuming you mass less than 9,000 kg, aren't 24 meters tall, and interact with less than 500 m^3 of soil.