Parts of this, like the first bit, were fascinating and
quite humorous (in a nerdy way, maybe). Like all the funny wordplay taxonomists engage in while naming new species. Like the accidental humor stemming from not-so-clever taxonomists or from juicy scientific intrigue. And I love this line: "The 'Linnaean system' is still what
people think of on the rare occasions they think about taxonomy at
all."
It was all quite well written, but I did think a few
sections were too slow and detailed for the average layman. I learned a lot (though there was so much
information I'm not sure how much I'll retain, and some left me only with a
basic grasp of the topic).
Though I know that Latin names for plants and animals
sometimes change (I've been researching cactus and a couple of important local
species have changed scientific names between the publications of various sources),
I've always rather thought of them as consistent, as more reliable than the
multiple and changeable and fallible common names. This book, more than anything, disillusioned
me about that. Well, they're still more
consistent than common names, but they're not consistent. But I guess it's
good that our names can bend and change along with our ever-expanding
knowledge.
I did find it a bit condescending (or maybe just overly
academic) when the author complained about so many cultures and scientists in the past
classifying plants by unscientific principles such as…gasp…what is edible and
what is poisonous and what is medicinal.
Those seem very logical and pragmatic categories to me. Even now, if I get lost in the wilderness,
I'm afraid I'd rather know what's edible than which genera are most closely
related in the evolutionary tree.
I still don't think I'll ever remember more than a few
Latin names, despite how much I love nature.
Maybe I should make it my new goal.
I recommend this for anyone interested in the topic and
unafraid of some deep delving and a LOT of Latin.
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