Kurelik's The Mind painting look like something by H. Bosch, tho not quite as creepy or sexually obvious. I really enjoy the root system drawing, which are proof of a factoid from my botany professor: there is as much of a tree below ground as there is above ground. Thanks for some interesting posts!
That Time Life series were my favorite books as a kid. We had a whole slew of them. Another good one was “The Body” with its clever illustrations of the five senses as seen as mechanical devices. Brilliant.
Also, the 1955 LIFE “The World We Live In” was similarly rich with engaging illustrations and photos. The fold out pages of different periods’ dinosaur murals are unforgettable.
With these books it was like having a natural history in your home!
Regarding "quick plant identification", I slightly disagree that the iPhone is "nearly as accurate" as Seek. Rather, the iPhone is more likely to "over-ID", that is, provide a species-level ID when it simply is not possible without actually seeing other plant characteristics. Seek is a bit more conservative.
But in all cases, I STRONGLY recommend iNaturalist, which is both free and the most accurate, and covers all organisms (mushrooms, plants, insects, birds, mammals, slime molds, etc), and has a huge benefit that it contributes to community science and is a non-profit company, so they don't have a profit motive to misuse data or deviate from their community science roots. Yes, it might take an extra click or two to get an ID, but you then also have expert identifiers that will chime in to help improve the ID.
The Life Science Library was a I am stuck home sick day or raining outside treat.
Thanks for the memories.
Kurelik's The Mind painting look like something by H. Bosch, tho not quite as creepy or sexually obvious. I really enjoy the root system drawing, which are proof of a factoid from my botany professor: there is as much of a tree below ground as there is above ground. Thanks for some interesting posts!
Re: Connections - if you enjoy the NYT game, check out the UK TV gameshow that is a lot of fun - -with the cheeky Victoria Coren Mitchell https://youtu.be/WemsbkC7p8A?si=5LNU-n5PwXnTb2ca
I have a great love of trees. Thanks for sharing the root drawings. Those are awesome.
That Time Life series were my favorite books as a kid. We had a whole slew of them. Another good one was “The Body” with its clever illustrations of the five senses as seen as mechanical devices. Brilliant.
Also, the 1955 LIFE “The World We Live In” was similarly rich with engaging illustrations and photos. The fold out pages of different periods’ dinosaur murals are unforgettable.
With these books it was like having a natural history in your home!
Thanks for the tip about the Photos app. Super useful, I didn’t know that!
Regarding "quick plant identification", I slightly disagree that the iPhone is "nearly as accurate" as Seek. Rather, the iPhone is more likely to "over-ID", that is, provide a species-level ID when it simply is not possible without actually seeing other plant characteristics. Seek is a bit more conservative.
But in all cases, I STRONGLY recommend iNaturalist, which is both free and the most accurate, and covers all organisms (mushrooms, plants, insects, birds, mammals, slime molds, etc), and has a huge benefit that it contributes to community science and is a non-profit company, so they don't have a profit motive to misuse data or deviate from their community science roots. Yes, it might take an extra click or two to get an ID, but you then also have expert identifiers that will chime in to help improve the ID.
The root drawings are so neat. I wish they gave the common name. You should really look at Jim Richard’s photos of plants and their roots: https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/gallery/WORLD-FOOD-Soil/G0000jTsL79SfOHw/C0000b.w7eKeUjZ4
Wow! Thank you for sharing these, they're great!
I'll try it, thanks Michael.