It's very true that having a name for something doesn't tell you anything about it (unless it's a scientific name for a plant or animal, in which case it tells you what it's related to). I used to teach invasive species management to people who spent a lot of time in the outdoors but often weren't formally educated. One of the challenges was to show them that they had a lot of knowledge that wasn't tied up in knowing names for things or big words. Having said that, naming is helpful for sorting out information about things in your head, and for communicating about things
Thanks for reading Melanie! I'm very intrigued about your teaching experience. When you say it was a challenge to show them that they had knowledge not linked to knowing names, do you mean they knew how to "do the thing" but didn't necessary know "what the thing was called"?
They were often great observers and knew the area they worked really well, so were great at spotting changes - new plants turning up, a plant that was increasing or decreasing, knowing if pest control was working - but were often intimidated by not knowing the names of things, or the scientific-sounding words to describe things.
It's very true that having a name for something doesn't tell you anything about it (unless it's a scientific name for a plant or animal, in which case it tells you what it's related to). I used to teach invasive species management to people who spent a lot of time in the outdoors but often weren't formally educated. One of the challenges was to show them that they had a lot of knowledge that wasn't tied up in knowing names for things or big words. Having said that, naming is helpful for sorting out information about things in your head, and for communicating about things
Thanks for reading Melanie! I'm very intrigued about your teaching experience. When you say it was a challenge to show them that they had knowledge not linked to knowing names, do you mean they knew how to "do the thing" but didn't necessary know "what the thing was called"?
They were often great observers and knew the area they worked really well, so were great at spotting changes - new plants turning up, a plant that was increasing or decreasing, knowing if pest control was working - but were often intimidated by not knowing the names of things, or the scientific-sounding words to describe things.
I really, really like your newsletter, Florian. Thank you for making my life better!
Wow, thank you so much Christy! This means a lot, especially coming from a fellow writer :)