Ebook Download The Art of Naming (The MIT Press), by Michael Ohl
Ebook Download The Art of Naming (The MIT Press), by Michael Ohl
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The Art of Naming (The MIT Press), by Michael Ohl
Ebook Download The Art of Naming (The MIT Press), by Michael Ohl
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Review
Modern biologists have trouble with names. They can't keep up with the 20,000 species of living things newly recognized each year, not to mention the estimated millions that remain to be discovered. That's the focus of this brilliant book by Michael Ohl, a biologist at the Natural History Museum in Berlin... Taxonomy, as revealed through Ohl's expert commentary, displays both the wisdom and the wit of the artful scientists who practice it.―Natural HistoryThe history and practice of scientific naming is both presented as well as mused extensively upon with the intention of showing that far from being rigid and staid, the way in which names are assigned to species, as well as occasionally modified, is rich in creativity, cleverness, humor, and even at times used for the settling of scores.―The Well-Read NaturalistDetailed but engaging...The rules and traditions of taxonomy prove more flexible, even chaotic, than the lay reader is apt to imagine.―Scott McLemee, Inside Higher EdOhl is at his best in the book's final chapters, where he merges linguistics, philosophy, and biology together in a consideration of some particularly unusual matters of taxonomy.―Gregory R. Goldsmith, Science
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If you've ever wondered what's in a name―and haven't we all?―then The Art of Naming is the book for you. Smart, funny, packed with tales of scientific feuds, enraged politicians, outsized adventure, and egos, Michael Ohl reminds us that in the wonder of name lies the wonder of life on Earth itself.―Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize winner; author of The Poisoner's HandbookMichael Ohl's brilliant book shows that although systematic biologists are sometimes said to be crazy, it's the other way around; taxonomy is a psychoactive science that prevents madness.―Fredrik Sjöberg, author of The Fly TrapIn The Art of Naming, Michael Ohl takes the reader behind the scenes with biodiversity explorers to reveal the fascinating and surprisingly human practice of naming species. An engaging storyteller, Ohl draws upon authoritative knowledge and unexpected historical tales to bring to life, with clarity and wit, this little-known corner of science. As millions of species face the threat of extinction, there is no better time to celebrate the diverse kinds of life on Earth and the sources of the names by which we know them.―Quentin Wheeler, President of ESF, New York's global environmental college; author of What on Earth?Michael Ohl brings to life the scientific process of naming animals, and the fascinating people who name them, through a superb combination of storytelling and rigorous factual presentation. The Art of Naming is delightful.―Justin Schmidt, Southwestern Biological Institute & Department of Entomology, University of Arizona; author of The Sting of the Wild
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Product details
Series: The MIT Press
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: MITPress; Reprint edition (February 26, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0262537036
ISBN-13: 978-0262537032
Product Dimensions:
6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
3.4 out of 5 stars
6 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#684,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The general public believes that species are real and taxonomists simply identify and name them. Many biologists whose research is far removed from systematics actually agree. Books like this are good eye-openers, if you can get anyone to read them. The best such book is "Naming Nature" by Carol Kae-suk Yoon, which I require of the students in my undergrad systematics class and have reviewed here on Amazon. "The Art of Naming" is not as good. I recommend it as supplementary reading, but do not require it. The biggest problem is that it is rather woodenly translated from the German (by Elisabeth Lauffer), such that even when it is telling an inherently fascinating or amusing story--which is fairly often--it is still a dull "read." I imagine it is livelier in the original. The book was written for a German audience and the consistent emphasis on things German may leave some American readers cold (but who can resist the opening anecdote, in which the Fuhrer supposedly intervened personally to block a change in the common names of bats and shrews, because how dare the professional elitists presume to override the traditional usage and wisdom of the Volk?). Embedded in the text are numerous teachable examples and I will indeed use them in lecture. It gives only the sketchiest history of the nomenclatorial Codes (with a German emphasis, of course) but does convey their important concepts reasonably clearly. There is a decent discussion of how many species of organisms there are (which depends in part on one's species concept). In terms of existing names, it argues any count must be reduced by about 20% to account for unrecognized synonymy. (Synonymy is a real problem. One French Dipterist--perhaps the world's champion "splitter"--redescribed the parasitoid Phryxe vulgaris over 200 times based on minute and insignificant variation.) Ohl discusses the most productive namers--with 10 to 20,000 names each -- and how they accomplished such a feat, amounting in one case to a new species per day for years on end. He quotes the infamous obituary of one of them, Francis Walker of the British Museum, of whom it was written "More than twenty years too late for his scientific reputation, and after having done an amount of injury to entomology almost inconceivable in its immensity, Francis Walker has passed from among us." It discusses the relationship between anality and taxonomy. And it tries to answer the question "Can cryptids like the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman be given scientific names in the absence of a type specimen? (Maybe.) In short, after you read Yoon, if you want more, read Ohl. Not the other way round.
Very bad translation! Not sure why MIT press accepts this kind horrible language. The translator has ZERO understanding of biology, she simply confuses reader about the butterfly and moth and Lepidoptera!!!To be honest, the content is quite good, that is, the information is solid and useful for people who is interested in natural history.But, again, this English edition is a nightmare.I want to rate this book 2 stars, but I cannot. If you can tolerate it, it is ok to read it.
The book is entirely Germanocentric, with German terms rendered into plodding English. It deals mostly with German names, German scientists, and German anecdotes. If you do not know German, the book will make no sense to you. If you do know German, there is absolutely no reason to read it in English. Paraphrasing Sid Ziff (probably), this book should not be tossed aside lightly, and it should not be thrown out the window with great force; it should be shredded and recycled responsibly.
All writers have contemplated the act of naming. Should a name be symbolic? Should it be phonetically or aesthetically pleasing? What are the rules for naming species that might help a writer name a fictional alien or fantastical species? This book attempts to address this naming art in a single thorough study. Since there are 1.8 million named species, there is plenty of ground for research in this field. The cover explains that the rules for scientific naming “in standard nomenclature, the generic name followed by specific name – go back to Linnaeus; but they are open to idiosyncrasy and individual expression.†The cover of this book is beautifully and elegantly designed with several named with tags species of winged insects against a sterile white background. Several curious archival photographs from various uniquely named species illustrate the book, as well as photos of the scientists who named some of these species. Most of these images were taken by the author at the exhibits and collections of the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin.The first chapter’s name attracts attention, “1 Hitler and the Fledermausâ€, and it delivers on the promise to shock: on March 3, 1942, the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper attempted to announce that the German Society for Mammalogy passed a resolution to change the names for shrew “spitzmaus†to “spitzer†and the name for bat “Fledermaus†to “fleder†because the original names were misleading. The newspaper then received a threatening letter from Martin Bormann, Adolf Hitler’s private secretary that stated that they will be sent to “the construction battalion on the Russian front†if they did not immediately retract the renaming, and the paper immediately complied, so that these names remain to this day in their confusing original form. This is a great example of how names can become hotly debated political tools. It definitely draws readers into the book.While this book is saturated with stories about how things are named and naming controversies, it is a bit frustrating for a researcher who might be interested in finding practical information on how to name a character or a new species to search for specifically relevant guidance. The second chapter begins with Armand David’s journey into naming plants, then has a section on if a panda is a bear, with later sections on nomenclature, and validity. Basically, most of the chapter discusses how irregular naming has been, wherein random institutions or individuals who discover species or influence those who discover them have chosen names somewhat arbitrarily rather than in a systematic, scientific way. A section called “Naming Rights for Sale†really stresses this. In the Chasing New Horizons book that I reviewed earlier in this set, there is a discussion on how Pluto was named after the wife of the donor that sponsored the observatory that found the semi-planet.If a scientist buys this book in the hope of finding concrete guidance on how to name a new species, he or she has discovered, it is unlikely he or she will walk away with a clear sense on how to proceed beyond the basics. But they might realize that they are supposed to name the species after their funders or give it a political name that might inspire future funding of their work. This is a great read for those interested in history, archeology, biology, and naming. It is written for general readers who might want to escape with a good book but dislike fiction, preferring true dramatic stories.Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Volume X, Issue 2, Summer 2018 (Anaphora Literary Press)
Fantastic book on animal names. I would have liked a bit more botany, but one can't have everything. Highly recommended.
What a great book. Taxonomy and the naming of species is part science, part art, part poetry. Ohl is part of that world and is entertaining when writing about it. We need more books like this one.
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