I like the difference between single points and frontlines of influence. It comes up in vegetation science, where there is the Eternal Question of the Continuity of Communities; and some events and environments in my life felt like approaching lines, like the marriage, and some like points, like the wedding.
And, also from veg.sc., the notion of (scaled) phytosociological relevés. When you do that, you have to “edit” the picture of “grass and shrubbery” you see so that you can estimate the % of soil covered by different species, and not be distracted by flowers & dead plants, and probably recognize levels within the “grass”, etc., and look for patchiness, etc., and find a way to express it all. I have known people compiling relevés in ten minutes flat; a colleague wave a hand at a spot of Erythronium caucasicum, half-screened by the rain, and remark “Huh, no clones here”… It just becomes a way of seeing stuff, with practice. Wiki
And lastly, the Image of the Species, which is the image of something you have encountered many times and recognize “directly”, which might differ from such shaped by a different set of observations.
All this sounds interesting, but without more resources (or biology background) I’m not sure I’m getting this.
I like the difference between single points and frontlines of influence.
Is the frontline (as you mean it) only considered in time (not e.g. physical space)? I.e. it’s just a different way of saying “something exerts influence for a period of time” vs “something changes suddenly”?
And, also from veg.sc., the notion of (scaled) phytosociological relevés.
I think I get what the process looks like, but does it mean as a concept? E.g. what else would you use it to describe?
And lastly, the Image of the Species, which is the image of something you have encountered many times and recognize “directly”, which might differ from such shaped by a different set of observations.
Do you mean the observation that human brains represent categories by remembering “typical examples” of items in that category?
No, it is usually used for space. Something like internal design of workplaces, or being distracted by a coughing fit at an opera, or placing the cherry on top of the cake, or skirting puddles, all of that:) But you can say, for exaple, that learning about human hormone system by reading about separate hormones gives you points of “illumination”, and then imagining the profile of, for example, pregnancy, is more of a line. (Maybe?.. I seldom have to articulate that. For me, the “line” is more like the front of a cloudbank, where you know there is a whole bag of “weather” contained, but don’t yet know what that weather would be.)
relevés
I guess I meant a certain skill, which allows to output a strictly formalized answer, has to be useful across a really wide set of circumstances, and when internalized feels like a rush of data and corrections.
typical examples
No, it is rather a blended memory of all such organisms one sees. Like, “well, it is rather too oblong for yeast, but I still think it is yeast”, you know? Typical examples are things people admire, and they should be the basis for the Images of the Species, but in practice I think it never happens and this is likely for the best.
Please find better names for these things, if you think they are useful. I simply remembered what I found applicable outside of botany, but, well:)
I like the difference between single points and frontlines of influence. It comes up in vegetation science, where there is the Eternal Question of the Continuity of Communities; and some events and environments in my life felt like approaching lines, like the marriage, and some like points, like the wedding.
And, also from veg.sc., the notion of (scaled) phytosociological relevés. When you do that, you have to “edit” the picture of “grass and shrubbery” you see so that you can estimate the % of soil covered by different species, and not be distracted by flowers & dead plants, and probably recognize levels within the “grass”, etc., and look for patchiness, etc., and find a way to express it all. I have known people compiling relevés in ten minutes flat; a colleague wave a hand at a spot of Erythronium caucasicum, half-screened by the rain, and remark “Huh, no clones here”… It just becomes a way of seeing stuff, with practice. Wiki
And lastly, the Image of the Species, which is the image of something you have encountered many times and recognize “directly”, which might differ from such shaped by a different set of observations.
All this sounds interesting, but without more resources (or biology background) I’m not sure I’m getting this.
Is the frontline (as you mean it) only considered in time (not e.g. physical space)? I.e. it’s just a different way of saying “something exerts influence for a period of time” vs “something changes suddenly”?
I think I get what the process looks like, but does it mean as a concept? E.g. what else would you use it to describe?
Do you mean the observation that human brains represent categories by remembering “typical examples” of items in that category?
No, it is usually used for space. Something like internal design of workplaces, or being distracted by a coughing fit at an opera, or placing the cherry on top of the cake, or skirting puddles, all of that:) But you can say, for exaple, that learning about human hormone system by reading about separate hormones gives you points of “illumination”, and then imagining the profile of, for example, pregnancy, is more of a line. (Maybe?.. I seldom have to articulate that. For me, the “line” is more like the front of a cloudbank, where you know there is a whole bag of “weather” contained, but don’t yet know what that weather would be.)
I guess I meant a certain skill, which allows to output a strictly formalized answer, has to be useful across a really wide set of circumstances, and when internalized feels like a rush of data and corrections.
No, it is rather a blended memory of all such organisms one sees. Like, “well, it is rather too oblong for yeast, but I still think it is yeast”, you know? Typical examples are things people admire, and they should be the basis for the Images of the Species, but in practice I think it never happens and this is likely for the best.
Please find better names for these things, if you think they are useful. I simply remembered what I found applicable outside of botany, but, well:)