Is There A Smell Comparable To Space ? I Assume We Dont Know Because We Would Die If We Tried To Smell

its like marine biology Jackass

I get where you’re coming from, but–

As a biologist– no, you don’t! I think that’s a pretty common misunderstanding of how “reality” works. We’re humans–we’re built to categorize and generalize and simplify and this helps us function efficiently, make predictions, and communicate about abstract concepts or experiences.

But the world itself pretty much never falls into clean-edged categories because that’s not how things evolve. That’s not how natural, complex, multi-faceted processes *happen.* The concept of species is an artificial construct with a basis in biology. (Look up “ring species” for an awesome example!) The concept of “genes” is an artificial construct with a basis in biology that helps us talk about concepts. (Have you ever seen a scientist try to create an inclusive, concrete definition for what a “gene” is? It’s hilarious.)

Heck, the concept of *colors* is an artificial construct with a basis in biology. What’s red? What’s not red? When does red start being purple? How does pink fit into the picture?

I totally get why saying “let’s just not worry about the reality of gender and let everybody do what they want” is appealing! It appeals to me. I think it would work really well for a lot of people.

But the *issue* with saying that gender is 100% socially constructed is that it harmfully erases the experiences of trans people that experience non-social dysphoria (such as body dysphoria). I have straight up seen trans people shouted down about their own lived experiences and trauma over this; it’s not cool.

To be clear, I am using “gender” to describe the internal sense of “what I am” as distinct from “gender ROLES” (socially constructed) and “sex” (also kind of fuzzy-edged, but more related to chromosomes and phenotype).

Saying “gender is 100% socially constructed” also erases the experiences of non-trans people who have a strong internal instinct of “I am this”, although at least in those it is less likely to cause harm so much as to just clash hard with their ability to accept your logic.

One reason we know gender is not entirely socially constructed is that people raised as the “wrong” gender are statistically very likely to have a lot of psychological issues, even if they don’t know they are being raised “wrong.” (An example: x)

Another reason we know that gender is not entirely socially constructed is that most animal species we study exhibit a “sense of what sex they are” that is DISTINCT from their “sex” and can be manipulated genetically, chemically, and environmentally. The more complex these systems get, the more room you have for lots of variation, creating a whole spectrum of ways for both gender and sex to manifest and interrelate.

And humans are even more complex, because we have the ability to think consciously about our sense of self and our sense of other people’s selves! But there is definitely a root for all of these (and even why so many people feel so very STRONGLY about this topic) somewhere, partially, in our biology.

Doesn’t mean we don’t have a shit-ton of work to do educating people and creating a better, more inclusive society.

Indian villagers knit jumpers for elephants to protect them from near-freezing temperatures

yo bro is it safe down there in the woods? yeah man it’s cool by Tomislav Jagnjic

I made a printable coloring calendar! It’s got all twelve months plus blanks in case you like writing out all the months and whatnots yourself. It’s a mere $3 on Etsy and Gumroad; Etsy splits it up into three files, but it’s all the same thing. It prints on standard letter-sized paper and you can stick it into your discbound planner or three-ring binder, whatever floats your boat. Reblogs are appreciated, feel free to post pics and tag me if you color your own 💙

So IDK if people will understand this concept but I made "corner pins"

Basically they are tiny pins with TWO posts on them, and you use them to hold up mementos like instax/photos/tickets etc without having to puncture them, and without having to pinch them with the metal or the push pin edge etc. You can simply rest the corner of the item between the posts gently!

These are the cute ribbon/bow ones, I also made some others that i think would be really cool on your mementos ToT

Let me know what you think about this concept?? I don't know how to market it but i really thought it was a nice idea T_T. You can find them in my store here

my grandparents have to lock their car doors when they go to sunday mass because people have been breaking in to unlocked cars and leaving entire piles of zucchini

The researchers used high-speed photography and an instrument called a Rheometer to analyze frog saliva under prey-capturing conditions.­­­­­­­ The scientists think frog tongues could one day help engineers design reversible soft adhesives that could work at high speeds.

Read more about it here.