Hah! Maybe we should start a nature observers reality show! (How are your hosting skills?)
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Yes. Whichever contestant can photo and then eat the most species on the island wins. Is that crazy enough to entertain the masses?
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Anything left of that island?
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Hah! But you know, in quite a literal sense, great nature shows are kind of reality shows… by nature?
And I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for the BBC series (Sir Dave, etc) where at the end of an episode they have some ‘making of’ footage. Those people pull off just some gobsmacking footage with incredible planning, on site engineering, and dogged determination.
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I can say that I have never watched a ‘reality show’.
I think the problem with them is not what they represent, but how many ‘resources’ they consume. Many people like that stuff, but the amount of energy spent on them is outrageous.
I believe ‘We’ and ‘Them’ operate in two different social universes. I assume there may be some overlap, but most folks on iNat (and especially on this Forum) have a focus that is radically different from ‘them’.
It would be better, in my opinion, if people in general spent more time being aware of life around them. I do not see that happening any time soon, though.
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What do we want from life ? We want answers.
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@mamestraconfigurata , reality show worth watching, Tales From the Green Valley. I’m not a fan of fake drama so shows like this suit me quite well.
I was fortunate enough to grow up with 300 acres of forest and swamp, not much supervision and not being allowed to be inside if the weather was good as a rule. Snakes were my some of my closest friends growing up, ‘helped’ baby Barn Swallows learn to fly, (I was about 5 and the swallows did feed the babies afterwards- they nested in our chicken coop for many years) I have a photo of me petting a groundhog when I was about 10- I have always interacted with nature and loved it. As an adult I’m a little more careful about my interactions, as in not handling baby birds but I’m quite comfortable petting a bumblebee within certain parameters, I’m happy to say my interactions are almost always positive. I got bit by a garter snake once, stung maybe 5 times in almost 50 years and was less than 10 meters from a bear that ran away from me. So not really negative but it does make me think about perspective- I was glad that the bear ran but I was also sad and disturbed that it was afraid of me. Also disturbed that I wanted to pet it… I’e always found nature to be magical, it just feels so different and more real- I’m reminded of the things that truly matter. Which to me, regarding nature, is having a symbiotic relationship and not one of ownership or dominance over it. I wish more people realized the importance of this, and that it does matter.
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As a non-professional and non-scientist whose day job is in the humanities, the fact that this is a hobby is liberating, for it is not overdetermined by a professional framework. I liken it the Chinese literati painters who retreated to the countryside to pursue painting in the way that they wished without having to adhere to court precepts about painting. A hobby allows one to develop a kind of intensity… I love the hobby because the more I learn about nature the more I am aware of how little I know and how much there is to learn about the infinite complexity of life and of the universe.
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Similar experience. I studied/work in electronics because it’s what I was interested in growing up, but since doing it professionally, I think it’s been over 3 years since I’ve used a soldering iron at home recreationally. Granted, that’s also when I became a homeowner…
For folks who are in nature-oriented professions, has doing it professionally made it more enjoyable or less?
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Good question. Elements of working professionally in biology such as with an agency doing conservation and management can make it less enjoyable. You are pulled into the politics of any decision making and have to deal with bureaucracy. Certainly academics have their own institutional things that distract from research interests. If you can afford to do nature study on your own without outside funding, then you’re freer to do what you like and it’s more hobby-like. But there are certainly benefits to being employed to do biology with like-minded people and funding to do your work.
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Realized one other “change” since I started being more observant of nature, seeing something like the photo below:
Before: I can’t believe it! What a mess! Need to report it to the city! This is so bad!
After: This is awesome, look at the biodiversity, will the tall one flower?
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I’m really pleased when I see landscaping around a store or office into which Common Milkweed has established itself - and the landscaping maintenance crew lets it grow.
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