Seeing your post again, I am somewhat traumatized thinking back to the world I just left after 34 years of teaching in public high schools, a job I adored for 31 years or so, but so severely impacted by phones/screen addiction, effort avoidance etc. But it’s obviously not just impacting schools. Streets. Sidewalks. Trails. Restaurants. Concerts. Anyplace where people and screens mingle together.
I've definitely noticed a different experience with trees if I bring my phone vs if I don't. I also never learned anything through apps and have noticed they often aren't right when it comes to unusual species or diseased trees. Really interesting read!
I just lectured to my daughter about taking some form of paper map into the mountains--you can't get a signal everywhere!
You are also describing the difference between "understanding" some information ("that's an oak") and "learning" the information (being able to retain, retrieve, and re-explain why that's an oak).
I agree! I do take photos when I'm out and about and then use the photos and a field guide to identify species I've not recognised or to share id photos with groups such as the UK Hoverfly Group (that require photos with records). I don't have a smartphone and have never understood the need to be attached to one.
In the UK I rarely use an app to get an ID. I frequently find plants I don't know, e.g. I frequently mistrust my Populus, Salix or Picaea IDs. I observe, photograph and take samples, then track them down at home using my library. Even if I'm in coverage I don't want to use an app when I know I can do the job myself, as I want to practice my skills.
Recently I was in the US, in WA. . A lot was totally unfamiliar, and I reckoned that the only way to work was to assume I knew nothing. My modus operandi changed completely. I ignored 90% of what I saw, until something was so obviously distinct that it was worth properly capturing a picture. Look, look, snap and walk on. I was usually out of coverage, so that was all until I got home. Then I could run the pictures through Flora Incognita and iNaturalist, and then further checks on the net. I got names, and plants started to look familiar. By the end I was confident enough to move onto grasses.
That trip taught me to really respect those apps. I still had to keep my eyes open, if only to be sure that what I thought was one species was actually two. I couldn't relax, knowing that instead of being able to ID every plant within 50m, rather I would be lucky if I could manage just one of them. It was hard work, and my partner got sick and tired of me stopping to get a picture. However, despite my phone being constantly in my hand I got an intense introduction to those woods.
It also drummed into me just how many aliens the US has received from Europe. When I started to trust my judgement I realised that almost every ruderal was an immigrant. Rumex obtusifolius deep in old growth forest, and I reckon I knew every one of the meadow grasses
Seeing your post again, I am somewhat traumatized thinking back to the world I just left after 34 years of teaching in public high schools, a job I adored for 31 years or so, but so severely impacted by phones/screen addiction, effort avoidance etc. But it’s obviously not just impacting schools. Streets. Sidewalks. Trails. Restaurants. Concerts. Anyplace where people and screens mingle together.
I've definitely noticed a different experience with trees if I bring my phone vs if I don't. I also never learned anything through apps and have noticed they often aren't right when it comes to unusual species or diseased trees. Really interesting read!
I agree, and it is true that apps cannot be trusted. I much prefer a good field guide like the Sibley Guide to Trees. Thank you!
I just lectured to my daughter about taking some form of paper map into the mountains--you can't get a signal everywhere!
You are also describing the difference between "understanding" some information ("that's an oak") and "learning" the information (being able to retain, retrieve, and re-explain why that's an oak).
I agree! I do take photos when I'm out and about and then use the photos and a field guide to identify species I've not recognised or to share id photos with groups such as the UK Hoverfly Group (that require photos with records). I don't have a smartphone and have never understood the need to be attached to one.
In the UK I rarely use an app to get an ID. I frequently find plants I don't know, e.g. I frequently mistrust my Populus, Salix or Picaea IDs. I observe, photograph and take samples, then track them down at home using my library. Even if I'm in coverage I don't want to use an app when I know I can do the job myself, as I want to practice my skills.
Recently I was in the US, in WA. . A lot was totally unfamiliar, and I reckoned that the only way to work was to assume I knew nothing. My modus operandi changed completely. I ignored 90% of what I saw, until something was so obviously distinct that it was worth properly capturing a picture. Look, look, snap and walk on. I was usually out of coverage, so that was all until I got home. Then I could run the pictures through Flora Incognita and iNaturalist, and then further checks on the net. I got names, and plants started to look familiar. By the end I was confident enough to move onto grasses.
That trip taught me to really respect those apps. I still had to keep my eyes open, if only to be sure that what I thought was one species was actually two. I couldn't relax, knowing that instead of being able to ID every plant within 50m, rather I would be lucky if I could manage just one of them. It was hard work, and my partner got sick and tired of me stopping to get a picture. However, despite my phone being constantly in my hand I got an intense introduction to those woods.
It also drummed into me just how many aliens the US has received from Europe. When I started to trust my judgement I realised that almost every ruderal was an immigrant. Rumex obtusifolius deep in old growth forest, and I reckon I knew every one of the meadow grasses