The other day I was reading science writer Ed Young’s essay about birding in the New York Times. He writes about how he enjoys watching and recognizing birds. How it makes him feel closer to nature and how it made “things fall in place.”
His essay made me think of a feeling I have when I am back home in the dune landscape near where I grew up in The Netherlands. About once a year I have the opportunity to walk through that landscape and in addition to the pleasure of hanging out with my family, I enjoy recognizing and knowing the names of the plants we see. I definitely don’t know all of the plants, but I know many more in The Netherlands than in my chosen home of San Francisco. And recognizing these plants feels good. A little bit like seeing old friends.
I didn’t learn about these plants as a kid. As far as I remember nobody in my family was interested in plants – and I certainly wasn’t! But later, as a biology student, I took botany and plant ecology classes that included many field trips where I learned about plants. In some cases, I still remember who taught me the name of a specific plant. These plants and their names make me feel at home and connected with nature.
When I feel that connection with nature, I resolve to learn more Californian plants too, so that I will feel more at home there. But it’s hard and I am not a student anymore who takes weeks long botany classes and who does ecology field trips. And there are so many plants here in California, I am not sure where to start. I did recently make some progress with the local birds though. While nothing compared to Ed Young’s progress, I have learned to recognize the most common birds in the park where I walk my dog. And now, when I see the black and brown of the dark-eyed junco or the beautiful red of the house finch, it feels a little bit like seeing friends – even if I only met them a couple of months ago.
Recognition brings joy. Whether it’s recognizing plants, birds or people. I believe that that is the reason why people like to read about the royal family and Jennifer Anniston.
And on the other hand, not knowing, not recognizing doesn’t feel good. Being lost is frustrating. And I am lost often. I work on antibiotic resistance, but can’t seem to remember the names of the relevant drugs or genes. My kids talk to me all the time about Pokemon and Zelda, and I just can’t remember any of the names of the relevant characters or places.
There is a similar issue with music. I love music, but find it hard to listen to artists and songs I don’t know yet. My taste evolves very slowly. So this year, with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift making headlines with their record-breaking tours, I wanted to get to know these two stars and their music (I know, I am like, two decades behind). My students kept talking about Beyoncé, but I didn’t really “get” her. She has a hundred hits and (don’t hate me for this) these songs all sort of sound the same to me – until last month that is. Beyoncé’s new country album brings me joy because it includes plenty of things I know and recognize.
This new album (Cowboy Carter) includes songs I know (Jolene and Blackbird) and voices I know (Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton) – and with that, it made the entire album accessible to me. This, in turn, made me appreciate Beyoncé’s voice and made me curious about her other albums. I very much like knowing that Beyoncé, just like me, enjoys listening to Dolly Parton – we have something in common. Also, Beyoncé’s version of Jolene is great!
It may sound strange, but both recognizing the house finch and knowing a Beyoncé song, they both make me feel at home in this country and in this decade. And while it is often fun to be a foreigner, it is lovely to feel at home.
Being A Better Scientist 
Leave a comment