Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms. That is a very broad designation in a world filled with many narrowly focused disciplines. So while modern natural history dates historically from studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the medieval Arabic world through to the scattered European Renaissance scientists working in near isolation, today's field is more of a cross discipline umbrella of many specialty sciences. For example, geobiology has a strong multi-disciplinary nature combining scientists and scientific knowledge of many specialty sciences.
A person who studies natural history is known as a naturalist or "natural historian".
Until well into the nineteenth century, knowledge was considered by Europeans to have two main divisions: the humanities (including theology), and studies of nature. Studies of nature could in turn be divided, with natural history being the descriptive counterpart to natural philosophy which was the analytical study of nature. In modern terms, natural philosophy roughly corresponded to modern physics and chemistry, while natural history included the biological and geological sciences. The two were strongly associated. During the heyday of the gentleman scientists, many figures contributed to both fields, and early papers in both were commonly read at professional science society meetings such as the Royal Society and the French Academy of Sciences – both founded during the seventeenth century.
Natural history had been encouraged by practical motives, such as the work of Linnaeus motivated by the desire to improve the economical condition of the Swedish kingdom. Similarly, the Industrial Revolution prompted the development of the science of geology through the need to analyze rock strata (layers) in order to find mineral deposits.
Modern definitions from biologists often focus on the scientific study of individual organisms in their environment, as seen in this definition by M. Bates: "Natural history is the study of animals and Plants - of organisms. ... I like to think, then, of natural history as the study of life at the level of the individual - of what plants and animals do, how they react to each other and their environment, how they are organized into larger groupings like populations and communities" and this more recent definition by D.S. Wilcove and T. Eisner: "The close observation of organisms—their origins, their evolution, their behavior, and their relationships with other species". This focus on organisms in their environment is also echoed by H.W. Greene and J.B. Losos: "Natural history focuses on where organisms are and what they do in their environment, including interactions with other organisms. It encompasses changes in internal states insofar as they pertain to what organisms do". Some definitions go further, focusing on direct observation of organisms in their environment, both past and present, such as this one by G.A. Bartholomew: "A student of natural history, or a naturalist, studies the world by observing plants and animals directly. Because organisms are functionally inseparable from the environment in which they live and because their structure and function cannot be adequately interpreted without knowing some of their evolutionary history, the study of natural history embraces the study of fossils as well as physiographic and other aspects of the physical environment". A common thread in many definitions of natural history is the inclusion of a descriptive component, as seen in a recent definition by H.W. Greene: "Descriptive ecology and ethology".
Recently, several authors have argued for a more expansive view of natural history, including S. Herman, who defines the field as "the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual organism to the ecosystem, and stresses identification, life history, distribution, abundance, and inter-relationships. It often and appropriately includes an esthetic component", and T. Fleischner, who defines the field even more broadly, as “A practice of intentional, focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy". These definitions explicitly include the arts in the field of natural history, and are aligned with the broad definition outlined by B. Lopez, who defines the field as the "Patient interrogation of a landscape" while referring to the natural history knowledge of the Eskimo.
A slightly different, but equally expansive framework for natural history is also implied in the scope of work encompassed by many leading natural history museums, which often include elements of Anthropology, Geology, Paleontology and Astronomy along with Botany and Zoology, or include both cultural and natural components of the world.
The plurality of definitions for this field has recently been recognized as both a weakness and a strength, and a range of definitions have recently been offered by practitioners in a recent collection of views on natural history.
Dioscorides' ''De Materia Medica'' is often said to be the oldest and most valuable work in the history of botany. A Greek manuscript of Aristotle's ''Biological Works'', written in Constantinople in the mid-9th century, and preserved at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, is probably the oldest surviving manuscript of texts that founded the science of biology.
While natural history was basically static in medieval Europe, it continued to be developed by Arabic scholars during the Arab Agricultural Revolution. Al-Jahiz described early natural history ideas such as the "struggle for existence" (Malthus' phrase), and the idea of a food chain. He was an early adherent of environmental determinism. Al-Dinawari is considered the founder of Arabic botany for his ''Book of Plants'', in which he described at least 637 plants and discussed plant development from germination (sprouting) to death, describing the phases of plant growth and the production of flowers and fruit. Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati developed an early scientific method for botany, introducing empirical and experimental techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous materia medica, and separating unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and observations. His student Ibn al-Baitar wrote a pharmaceutical encyclopedia describing 1,400 plants, foods, and drugs, 300 of which were his own original discoveries. A Latin translation of his work was useful to European biologists and pharmacists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Earth sciences such as geology were also studied extensively by Arabic geologists, but by Avicenna's time, around 1000, the Arab Empire was in decline and scientists were not free to publish their ideas. From the 13th century, the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into Christian philosophy, particularly by Thomas Aquinas, forming the basis for natural theology. During the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters. Andrea Cesalpino was the creator of one of the first herbaria and the inventor of botanical systematics. Leonhart Fuchs was one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with Otto Brunfels and Hieronymus Bock. Important contributors to the field were also Valerius Cordus, Konrad Gesner (''Historiae animalium''), Frederik Ruysch, or Gaspard Bauhin. The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups, culminating in the system of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus.
In modern Europe, professional disciplines such as physiology, botany, zoology, geology, and palaeontology were formed. ''Natural history'', formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than a part of science proper. In Victorian Scotland it was believed that the study of natural history contributed to good mental health. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies, seashells (malacology/conchology), beetles and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until the modern evolutionary synthesis). Still, the traditions of natural history continue to play a part in the study of biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the Earth's biosphere that support them), ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life-forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology.
Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building the large natural history collections of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
Natural history museums, which evolved from cabinets of curiosities, played an important role in the emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research.
Examples of these societies in Britain include the Natural History Society of Northumbria founded in 1829, British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Birmingham Natural History Society, Glasgow Natural History Society, London Natural History Society founded in 1858, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in Britain. (See also Indian natural history)
Category:History of science Category:History of earth science Category:History of biology
ar:تاريخ طبيعي az:Təbiətşünaslıq zh-min-nan:Phok-bu̍t-ha̍k ca:Història natural cs:Přírodopis da:Naturhistorie de:Naturgeschichte el:Φυσική ιστορία es:Historia natural eo:Natura historio fr:Histoire naturelle gl:Historia natural hi:प्राकृतिक इतिहास id:Sejarah alam ia:Historia natural it:Storia naturale he:ידיעת הטבע hu:Természetrajz nl:Natuurlijke historie ja:博物学 no:Naturhistorie nn:Naturhistorie uz:Tabiatshunoslik pl:Historia naturalna pt:História natural ro:Istorie naturală ru:Естественная история simple:Natural history sl:Prirodopis fi:Luonnonhistoria sv:Naturhistoria ta:இயற்கை வரலாறு th:ธรรมชาติวิทยา tr:Doğa tarihi zh:博物学This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | J. D. Souther |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
birth name | John David Souther |
born | November 02, 1945 |
origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA |
genre | Rock |
years active | 1970s–present |
label | Elektra |
associated acts | Eagles, Jackson Browne, Longbranch Pennywhistle, James Taylor, Danny Kortchmar, Linda Ronstadt, Souther-Hillman-Furay Band |
website | }} |
John David Souther (commonly abbreviated as J. D. Souther) is an American singer-songwriter and actor, as well as a multi-instrumentalist. He is a well known country rock performer, writer and co-writer of hit songs for other artists, most famously Linda Ronstadt and associate of the Eagles band.
Shortly after meeting, Souther and Frey formed a folk duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. Their lone album, released in 1970 on Jimmy Bowen's Amos Records, featured significant contributions from guitarists James Burton and Ry Cooder, fiddler Doug Kershaw, drummer Jim Gordon, pianist Larry Knechtel and bassist Joe Osborn.
After recording an eponymous solo album in 1972, persuaded by David Geffen, Souther teamed up with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay to form the Souther Hillman Furay Band The group released two albums, but creative tensions and lack of record sales (not to mention Furay's discomfort with playing secular music following his conversion to Christianity) led to the band's demise.
Souther is probably best known for his well-crafted songwriting abilities, especially in the field of country rock. He co-wrote some of the biggest hits for the Eagles, including "Best of My Love", "Victim of Love", "Heartache Tonight", and "New Kid in Town". "How Long", which appears on the Eagles ''Long Road Out of Eden'' was written by Souther and originally recorded on his first solo album in 1972. He also produced Linda Ronstadt's "Don't Cry Now" album, and wrote songs for several of Ronstadt's multi-platinum albums, including "Faithless Love" from ''Heart Like a Wheel'' and "White Rhythm and Blues" included in her ''Living in the USA'' album. He also recorded several notable duets with Ronstadt, including "Hasten Down the Wind," "Prisoner in Disguise," and "Sometimes You Can't Win." He wrote "Run Like a Thief," which appeared on ''Home Plate'' by Bonnie Raitt.
Souther has also contributed as a singer in works written by other artists, including backing vocals with Don Henley in "The Light Is On" by Christopher Cross on his eponymous debut album.
His biggest hit as a solo artist was his 1979 Orbison-influenced song "You're Only Lonely" from the album of the same name, which reached number 7 on the ''Billboard'' charts. A collaboration with James Taylor called "Her Town Too" from Taylor's ''Dad Loves His Work'' album reached number 11 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.
He was a contributor on the ''Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night'' 1987 concert and video, sang The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in the 1989 movie ''Always'' and sang the theme song to the 1989-1992 sitcom ''Anything But Love''.
On October 14, 2008 Souther released ''If the World Was You'', his first new release in 25 years. In the fall of 2009, Souther released a follow up live CD entitled ''Rain - Live at the Belcourt Theatre'', featuring a blend of old and new material.
Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
! width="50" | CAN | |||
1972 | ||||
1976 | ||||
1979 | ''You're Only Lonely'' | Columbia | ||
1984 | ''Home by Dawn'' | Warner Bros. | ||
2008 | ''If the World Was You'' | Slow Curve |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
! width="40" | ! width="40" | ! width="40" | CAN AC | ! width="40" | CAN Country | |||
1979 | align="left" | 1 | 7 | 60 | 2 | 18 | 12 | |
Year | Single | Artist | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
US AC | US | US Country | CAN AC | CAN | ||||
1981 | James Taylor | 5 | 11 | - | 5 | 19 | ||
1982 | Linda Ronstadt | - | - | 27 | - | - | ||
Category:1945 births Category:American rock musicians Category:American rock singers Category:American rock songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:Souther–Hillman–Furay Band members Category:Tascosa High School alumni
de:J. D. Souther ja:J.D.サウザー sv:J.D. SoutherThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Name | Bradford Cox |
---|---|
Background | solo_singer |
Birth name | Bradford James Cox |
Alias | Atlas Sound |
Birth date | May 15, 1982 |
Origin | Athens, Georgia |
Instrument | Voice, electric and acoustic guitar, percussion, bells, tape, electric bass, drums |
Genre | Experimental rock, ambient, punk, shoegaze, electronic, pop, psychedelic, noise rock |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 1994 - present |
Label | HOSS Records, Rob's House Records, Kranky, 4AD, K Records |
Associated acts | Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, Ghetto Cross, Black Lips, The Wet Dreams |
Website | Deerhunter blog }} |
Bradford James Cox (born May 15, 1982) is an American musician best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Atlanta, Georgia-based psychedelic and ambient band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerhunter with drummer Moses Archuleta in 2001. The band has released 5 LPs along with several singles and EPs. Atlas Sound is a name Cox has used since he was ten to refer to his own music, but his first full-length produced under the name was ''Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel'', released in 2008. Cox's method of creating music is stream-of-consciousness, and he does not write lyrics in advance.
Cox began Atlas Sound in the wake of his work with Deerhunter because "I have ideas that I can't make work with a five piece rock band...There's kind of this palette of sounds that I use that I don't necessarily get to use with Deerhunter." Because the music Deerhunter makes is a collaborative effort, Cox does not want to assert himself as its principal songwriter. "I might have an idea for a fragment of a song, but I want to leave it skeletal so the guys can fill it out. Whereas with Atlas Sound, everything is done in an hour." Cox created the music for his first record in the software Ableton Live, utilizing an array of computer-based instruments, as well as his own live recordings.
To date, there have been six full-length releases by Cox as Atlas Sound: ''Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel'' in 2008, ''Logos'' in 2009, and Bedroom Databank in 2010, which is separated into four different albums. The lyrics of ''Let the Blind Lead'' are autobiographical in nature, reflecting life experiences of Cox. In discussing his second album, Cox characterized his first as being a "bedroom laptop type thing" and "Very introverted." In contrast, ''Logos'' was written in several parts of the world, and is "not about me. There are collaborations with other musicians. The lyrics are not autobiographical. The view is a lot more panoramic and less close-up. I became bored with introspection." An unfinished version of ''Logos'' was leaked onto the internet in August 2008, over a year before its release date. In response, Cox almost ceased production on the record, later saying "I did not react well to the leak, in retrospect. It became the kind of internet-fueled drama that I was quickly learning to despise."
In late 2010, Cox published four volumes of demos on his blog, entitled "Bedroom Databank". These demos were taken down from Mediafire by Sony, but they later apoligized to Cox, stating that they "were mistakenly removed". Atlas Sound has been chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they curated in May 2011.
Cox contributed to the Karen O-scored soundtrack for the 2009 film ''Where the Wild Things Are''.
With Deerhunter:
As Atlas Sound:
Category:Ambient musicians Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Bedroom musicians Category:Living people Category:People with Marfan syndrome Category:1982 births Category:Asexual people
fr:Bradford Cox it:Bradford Cox sv:Bradford CoxThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
The World News (WN) Network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn.com, as well as e-mail newsletters.
We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.).
When you submit your personally identifiable information through wn.com, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifiable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.
In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.
We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.
E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of
collection.If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com
The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
If we decide to change our e-mail practices, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we think appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
If we make material changes to our e-mail practices, we will notify you here, by e-mail, and by means of a notice on our home page.
The advertising banners and other forms of advertising appearing on this Web site are sometimes delivered to you, on our behalf, by a third party. In the course of serving advertisements to this site, the third party may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. For more information on cookies, you can visit www.cookiecentral.com.
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.