Ah yes, now I get it! Thanks :)

I feel like something similar has been going on a few years ago as well (or maybe it’s an old post?)

It is a valid term used by trans people to describe their own feelings (see the gender dysphoria bible for example). The other person must have gotten something mixed up…

Wow, I loved this! Thanks for sharing <3

Just use its Latin name, Solidago. How am I supposed to know what it is called in English when each other language also has its own name.

And yes, in Germany I do see it as an invasive pest. But at least it attracts a lot of pollinators. The invasive species of Erigeron are worse.

What’s genetic monoculture then? Wouldn’t that be identical to just monoculture? Or is it having the same crop, but different genetic variants on the same field for multiple years?

I’ve taken many pictures of copulating insects and I always feel weird doing that. But for identification purposes it’s great…

I’ve never understood why people buy clothing from expensive brands (except for when there is a real expectation of quality/durability)

Like, I understand it if the choice were only between original and poor-quality rip-off. But usually you can just go with something else that isn’t by an expensive brand and isn’t a rip-off…

True, I had to think of magic cards, too. I would definitely print my own cards if I’d play nowadays…

Nice article! As an outsider I still don’t get why people wouldn’t sell/buy unpainted minis for cheap (e.g. on etsy)

At least it follows the normal text flow and you can read from top to bottom (if you ignore the user names). Not like on xitter, where you have to jump from the middle to top to bottom…

I agree with the second part of that sentence, but who would think that they discover universal truths or any truths at all? The whole premise of science is that we cannot verify anything or find any real truth. We can just show that anything else is much more unlikely to be true.

Lol, have you not seen the OP or have ever looked at plant taxonomy before? There are many different groups where it is dubious if we can apply some sort of species concept.

And you talk about the species concept as if there was only just one?

Hm, it’s good I’d say. There isn’t everything on Tidal and so I have to have some albums on my phone or bandcamp (that is true for Spotify as well). And Tidal isn’t great at distinguishing artists with the same name. But I don’t listen to any popular music and I’m fine. Now that Tidal knows my taste it also gives me some great recommendations. I’ve actually started listening to the “my daily discovery” playlists nearly every day. It updates daily and quite often there is something new and interesting in there. I’ve got an IDM playlist of 539 tracks. And through Tidal I’ve discovered jazz, a ton of vintage african music, luk thung/mor lam, and other genres I hadn’t even known :)

Hm, I have the opposite feeling as well. In a heavily fragmented area without any primary forests left (Germany) I still find sooo many species that were invisible to me before I dared to look. I cannot imagine how it must have been before when humans hadn’t had such an impact on the ecosystem.

But then I also notice how all of these species exist despite our influence. How they try to keep on living in our cities. And that’s indeed very sad.

What isn’t iconic in nature though? Plants also have turned into similar looking herbs and shrubs over and over again. Or look at epiphytes! If there is an available niche it will get filled. And since plants all start with more or less the same basics, they fill it similarly. Evolution likes to repurpose stuff.

Wow, the Wikipedia article definitely is worth a read! This thing is over the top bad :O

(But, as someone pointed out, this clearly isn’t the species in the OP, which has divided leaves with three leaflets.)

You’re probably right, yeah…

It’s the Rod of Asclepius, not to be confused with the caduceus!

There are various theories why this symbol was invented. The one that makes most sense to me is that it depicts a (formerly widespread) parasitic nematode being removed by wrapping it around a stick to slowly draw it out of the body.

For a visual demonstration of the parasite and its removal: Bizarre Beasts - When is extinction the ‘right’ choice?

Thanks :)