(I thought a similar topic already existed? I couldn’t find it . . .)
X-ray specs were a novelty item marketed in comic books. They didn’t really work, but the idea was that they would give you x-ray vision.
If you had a pair of these “magic glasses” that could “cure” plant blindness, animal blindness, etc. . . . in other words, the glasses would magically give you expert knowledge of some taxon group, without you having to spend years or decades learning about it. Which type of “x-ray specs” would you choose?
Just like the algorithm, x-ray specs won’t replace learning, but they might get you there faster! Lately I’ve been focused on the sedge family Cyperaceae, a formidable group. The algorithm often provides valuable clues that help me track down a species. So the algorithm has become my x-ray specs!
I would choose x-ray specs for plants in Poaceae grasses always get mixed up in my head and I would love to be able to consistently ID them. I have gotten a little better after starting to grow some native grasses in my garden but they still trip me up
That reminds me…ancient Egyptian pharoahs would be titled ‘𓆥 nswt-bjtj “of the Sedge and Bee”’. With how difficult it is to identify bees and sedges to species, could we deem someone capable of effortlessly identifying Anthophila and Cyperaceae to species be a modern ruler of sedge and bee?
Rubus or Taraxacum, the two hardest genus in Western Paleartic. Probably the first one, so i could start appreciate having my field clothes torn every year.
i want ichneumonoidae glasses they are too too difficult to identify and almost all my ichs/brachs are left at family despite my love for the superfamily. i’ve got the Broad key but it’s too difficult for me to use, plus i dont have a microscope these days.
Popcorn Flowers! When they’re in bloom, the nutlets to identify them aren’t available. When the nutlets are ready to help with IDing, the plant is dead and unlikely to be photographed.
For me it would be the family Achatinellidae since those are the most commonly observed taxon I am interested in that I don’t know much about, but if I could have multiple pairs my next priorities would be Amastridae and Endodontidae in that order.
I’d love to have magic glasses for ferns in Hong Kong, about which there is precious little identification information in English… Then again, having this superpower would probably take away some of the mystery which is what motivates me to look at plants in the forest in the first place
I would say interesting as in when the house next door burns down. Back on topic, I would appreciate a pair of glasses (or an AI program) that would identify mosses and lichens.
they are too too difficult to identify and almost all my ichs/brachs are left at family despite my love for the superfamily. i’ve got the Broad key but it’s too difficult for me to use, plus i dont have a microscope these days.