Archivos de Diario para febrero 2019

martes, 19 de febrero de 2019

A Call to Action for Fungi

OK, I'm a nerd about mushrooms. I've been a lot of other things, but this one seems to be winning lately. One thing I know now: if I were a more particular of a nerd, like about a certain type of mushrooms, maybe my keenness would be more greatly honed. I've been that in the past too, and I don't regret it, but when I do I give so much slack to the other areas of mushrooms that much I have learned gets lost. I guess suffering happens no matter what what path one chooses.

So I guess my call to action for myself is to be better. To do more.

For the rest of you who consider yourselves identifiers, I suggest looking at common taxa in your area. The stuff you know you know, or the stuff you think you know that cannot be known, especially from a photograph with no info attached, and spend a few minutes a day sorting them out. Sorry for making anyone conjure thoughts of the other Donald, Rumsfeld. I have periods where I skip out on the online mentoring, and am fairly selective with what I identify or comment on (not naming names here, and there is nothing wrong with any of it). I know that things are defaulted here in a way that stuff disappears when it obtains "research grade", and the AI ever so convincing. These are challenges. I am beginning to feel strongly that I shouldn't be identifying things wrongly, even if that means withholding information I might have regarding what I think it could be. Perhaps that is born out of laziness, perhaps out of not wanting to cause confusion.

For those of you posting your finds. Do some reading. Look at the suggestions the AI makes, are they in the same Families, or the same Classes, or even the same Phyllum? Try to look for more similarities and do a little reading about your ultimate choice. It might surprise you what you learn. If the suggestions are all over the place, consider the AI to be just wildly guessing. I'm sure it work best with things like birds or butterflies which are in a more similar range of morphology and mostly known. Mushrooms often can't get named to species when many aren't even named yet.

Anyone can be an identifier of anything, and certainly they can identify what clearly is not something.

I'd be happy to discuss. I'm just thinking out loud mostly, trying to refine something. Maybe it can't be?

Publicado el martes, 19 de febrero de 2019 a las 05:03 PM por fungee fungee | 7 comentarios | Deja un comentario