Forwarded: Basic taxonomy

[Curtis Clark]

At 10:27 AM 12/11/95 -0600, Thomas E. Yancey wrote:
>Sea of Cortez". In that book (concerning a collecting trip into the Gulf of
>California with Ed Ricketts), Steinbeck observes that for the local inhabitants
>a species is noticed only if it is big, good to eat, or is dangerous, but
>otherwise is largely invisible. Perhaps such narrow viewpoints are close to the
>norm in ours and other societies, despite centuries of scientific study and
>documentation of biotas.

It reminds me of a view attributed to ignorant and prejudiced people in
rural areas in the part of the U.S. where I grew up:  "If you can't eat it
or f*** it, p*ss on it."

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Curtis Clark        http://www.sci.csupomona.edu/biology/clark/clark.htm
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