Stephen Barlow
@steb77.bsky.social
Naturalist, environmentalist, climate activist, nature photographer, very woke and proud of it.
Yes, their big overhaul is a con.
January 20, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Yes, their big overhaul is a con.
Reposted by Stephen Barlow
Yes. My next book leans heavily on indigenous knowledge. One of the areas it cites is astronomy, in which modern science is learning from millennia of accumiulated understanding and memory
www.resurgence.org/magazine/art...
www.resurgence.org/magazine/art...
Night Vision
Natalie Bennett welcomes a book about Indigenous knowledge.
The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars by Duane Hamacher. Allen & Unwin, 2022. ISBN: 9781760877200
www.resurgence.org
January 20, 2026 at 7:16 AM
Yes. My next book leans heavily on indigenous knowledge. One of the areas it cites is astronomy, in which modern science is learning from millennia of accumiulated understanding and memory
www.resurgence.org/magazine/art...
www.resurgence.org/magazine/art...
I have made many such discoveries and observations about species, that confounded the experts i.e. they knew nothing about it. I had no sense I'd discovered something new. Just I'd seen it, and was curious about it.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I have made many such discoveries and observations about species, that confounded the experts i.e. they knew nothing about it. I had no sense I'd discovered something new. Just I'd seen it, and was curious about it.
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I will give a simple example. I noticed that European Hobbies (Falco subbuteo) had eye spots on the back of their head. So I asked the person writing a monograph on them, what he thought the purpose of that was. He said, he didn't know anything about it.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I will give a simple example. I noticed that European Hobbies (Falco subbuteo) had eye spots on the back of their head. So I asked the person writing a monograph on them, what he thought the purpose of that was. He said, he didn't know anything about it.
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He said he never doubted them again, and they have skills in identification, and knowledge that no Western botanist has. That their skills are extraordinary. A lifetime of direct observation, and experience, gives extraordinary insight.
There is no such thing as a simple animal.
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There is no such thing as a simple animal.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
He said he never doubted them again, and they have skills in identification, and knowledge that no Western botanist has. That their skills are extraordinary. A lifetime of direct observation, and experience, gives extraordinary insight.
There is no such thing as a simple animal.
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There is no such thing as a simple animal.
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He said neither he nor the other botanists, could distinguish the varieties that his indigenous hosts claimed to be able to see, and he was sceptical. So he posted off samples to be analysed in the lab. Sure enough, these varieties had different pharmacological properties, as they insisted.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
He said neither he nor the other botanists, could distinguish the varieties that his indigenous hosts claimed to be able to see, and he was sceptical. So he posted off samples to be analysed in the lab. Sure enough, these varieties had different pharmacological properties, as they insisted.
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Indigenous insight and knowledge is very difficult to get across. I mentioned Richard Evans Schultes. Reading on of his detailed books about his explorations, he recounts how the indigenous peoples he was with, insisted one plant species came in 6 varieties.
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January 20, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Indigenous insight and knowledge is very difficult to get across. I mentioned Richard Evans Schultes. Reading on of his detailed books about his explorations, he recounts how the indigenous peoples he was with, insisted one plant species came in 6 varieties.
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Well said. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. We should have never become so reliant on the US. Because it was only a matter of time, before a lunatic like Donald Trump, took control in the US. US culture is very prone to having faith in abnormal ideas and people.
January 20, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Well said. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. We should have never become so reliant on the US. Because it was only a matter of time, before a lunatic like Donald Trump, took control in the US. US culture is very prone to having faith in abnormal ideas and people.
Our culture arrogantly and mistakenly assumes we know far more about the natural world than we actually know. My own insight, is based on knowing what I don't know, which is immense.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Our culture arrogantly and mistakenly assumes we know far more about the natural world than we actually know. My own insight, is based on knowing what I don't know, which is immense.
7/7
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Indigenous people who live off the land, often know far more than Western experts. One of my all time heroes, the so called father of etnnobotany (he laughed at the title) was in awe of the botanical skills of indigenous peoples in the Amazon region.
youtu.be/Px_MKhdV2Lk
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youtu.be/Px_MKhdV2Lk
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Richard Evans Schultes, Academy Class of 1990, Full Interview
YouTube video by Academy of Achievement
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Indigenous people who live off the land, often know far more than Western experts. One of my all time heroes, the so called father of etnnobotany (he laughed at the title) was in awe of the botanical skills of indigenous peoples in the Amazon region.
youtu.be/Px_MKhdV2Lk
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youtu.be/Px_MKhdV2Lk
6/7
I'm not full of myself, in fact I am ashamed at how little I know. But the funny thing, is despite being aware I know very little, I keep finding I know more than everyone else. It shouldn't be like this.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
I'm not full of myself, in fact I am ashamed at how little I know. But the funny thing, is despite being aware I know very little, I keep finding I know more than everyone else. It shouldn't be like this.
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One of the reasons I took up nature photography, was that I was tired of having my observations disputed, by people who seem to imagine all individuals of certain species, behave in the same way. I find a high quality photograph, stops all speculation, that I'm mistaken.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
One of the reasons I took up nature photography, was that I was tired of having my observations disputed, by people who seem to imagine all individuals of certain species, behave in the same way. I find a high quality photograph, stops all speculation, that I'm mistaken.
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Much of the behaviour and characteristics I've observed, has never been noted before. I've tried to discuss what I'd observed with national experts, and they've said I don't know anything about this, and I'd mistakenly assumed it was common knowledge.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Much of the behaviour and characteristics I've observed, has never been noted before. I've tried to discuss what I'd observed with national experts, and they've said I don't know anything about this, and I'd mistakenly assumed it was common knowledge.
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The primary thing I've learned, is that there is great variation, within the same species, as to how individuals behave. The second most significant thing I've discovered, is that animals, often quite simple ones, have far more complex behaviour, than anyone gives them credit for.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
The primary thing I've learned, is that there is great variation, within the same species, as to how individuals behave. The second most significant thing I've discovered, is that animals, often quite simple ones, have far more complex behaviour, than anyone gives them credit for.
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I 100% agree with you. I have decades (over half a century) experience with nature observation, particularly animal behaviour, as well as formal qualifications. Very few people can have spent more time in the field, watching animal behaviour.
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January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
I 100% agree with you. I have decades (over half a century) experience with nature observation, particularly animal behaviour, as well as formal qualifications. Very few people can have spent more time in the field, watching animal behaviour.
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I agree. It is meant to intimidate.
January 19, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I agree. It is meant to intimidate.
I'm not sure Trump knows that he thinks. It is just toddler impulsiveness, I want, I want, I am powerful, I can have what I want.
January 19, 2026 at 2:30 PM
I'm not sure Trump knows that he thinks. It is just toddler impulsiveness, I want, I want, I am powerful, I can have what I want.
Maybe, Starmer could actually try being critical of Trump, because he never has. This refusal to stand up and challenge Trump is why he is doing this shit, because he thinks he can get away with it.
January 19, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Maybe, Starmer could actually try being critical of Trump, because he never has. This refusal to stand up and challenge Trump is why he is doing this shit, because he thinks he can get away with it.
Exactly, this is my point, which I would have needed many more words to fully explain. It doesn't have to be realistic, only that some group of billionaires, have a fantasy of it being a money spinner. They are prone to this type of unrealistic fantasy, like Musk's, Mars fantasies.
January 19, 2026 at 12:08 AM
Exactly, this is my point, which I would have needed many more words to fully explain. It doesn't have to be realistic, only that some group of billionaires, have a fantasy of it being a money spinner. They are prone to this type of unrealistic fantasy, like Musk's, Mars fantasies.
Europe, now needs an alliance, independent from the US. Yes the self-styled pragmatists, will say this is unrealistic. But so is expecting Trump to see sense, without a serious challenging approach. Trump will just step up the bullying and threats, because they worked before.
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January 18, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Europe, now needs an alliance, independent from the US. Yes the self-styled pragmatists, will say this is unrealistic. But so is expecting Trump to see sense, without a serious challenging approach. Trump will just step up the bullying and threats, because they worked before.
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Starmer is a spent force for dealing with Trump, and he should resign, and let a fresh Labour leader deal with him. Most other European leaders are in a similar position.
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January 18, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Starmer is a spent force for dealing with Trump, and he should resign, and let a fresh Labour leader deal with him. Most other European leaders are in a similar position.
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However, above all else, it must be realized that Trump has an abnormal personality, a serious personality disorder. You can never show any weaknesses to a person like that, because it just triggers their predatory instinct.
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January 18, 2026 at 10:59 PM
However, above all else, it must be realized that Trump has an abnormal personality, a serious personality disorder. You can never show any weaknesses to a person like that, because it just triggers their predatory instinct.
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