Records

[Ron Gatrelle]

The recording by humans of anything and everything is categorized as
discovery. The problem with this is that the discovered whatever is always
conceived of as *new* -- new. However, the only thing that is new is human
awareness of. Records only exist for where humans have been. It is not
surprising then that the many catalogues of living things produced by humans
have their greatest amount of records for, and diversity of, organisms
recorded from where people have looked the most.

Rule 1.There will always be more dots on a distribution map in the vicinity
of a University (more lookers). Rule 2. There will always be more species
recorded from areas of persistent exploration (more individual visits). Two
points. 1) Keep looking in the same spot long enough and you will eventually
find what has been there all along. 2) Look some place new -- to the
observer.


 
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