He acquired renow as the creator of the Schmidt index, which rates of the pain from about 150 different insect stings
Schmidt began accumulating this data through ordinary scientific habits. Being interested in the chemistry and evolutionary biology of venomous insects, he found himself around them a lot, and when he inevitably got pierced or gnawed, he just took careful notes. He noticed early in his career that the pain of insect stingswith their actual lethality, and he gradually established that high venomousness goes hand-in-hand with sociality.
Gradually, he added fanciful notes to the Schmidt index and developed it into a unique work of literary art. In the scientific papers, the bite of the elongate twig ant is represented by a bare “1.” In Schmidt’s superb 2012 scientific memoir, “The Sting of the Wild,” however, P. gracilis is: “Reminiscent of a childhood bully. Intimidating, but his punch only glanced your chin, and you live for another day.
Schmidt’s index doesn’t have the ultra-tight statistical underpinnings that a similar quantitative scale would get in, say, psychometrics. He was confident in the inter-rater reliability of the scale mostly, it seems, through conversations with other entomologists. But one of the fun features of “The Sting of the Wild” is that Schmidt was also a careful student of past scientists’ notes on insect pain.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Remembering two tragic helicopter crashes in Newfoundland and Labrador | SaltWireST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The anniversaries of two tragic helicopter crashes related to the province’s offshore oil industry will be marked in the coming ...
Lire la suite »
Opinion | Canadian soccer stars fight to make women’s game ‘a better place than we found it’Opinion: Sinclair, Beckie, Schmidt, Quinn sit in front of standing committee and make what feels like their most seminal step in reshaping the future of the sport for the next generation.
Lire la suite »
JOAN SULLIVAN: 'Anchored in human interaction and frailties,’ Sinnott’s 'The Remembering' draws on what will be forgotten and what should be remembered | SaltWire'Well-written and engrossing'
Lire la suite »
Maine college goes into lockdown after shot fired on campusThe campus of a liberal arts college in Maine was put on lockdown early Saturday morning after a shot was fired in a student housing complex during what one student called a massive annual party. Colby College said no students were hurt.
Lire la suite »
Letter to the editor: Trudeau puts Fraser Lake resident in a bad mood'My bad mood relates to a bad actor named Justin Trudeau, who pretends to run Canada.'
Lire la suite »
Opinion | Canadian soccer stars fight to make women’s game ‘a better place than we found it’Opinion: Sinclair, Beckie, Schmidt, Quinn sit in front of standing committee and make what feels like their most seminal step in reshaping the future of the sport for the next generation.
Lire la suite »