4 Matching Annotations
- Mar 2020
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theconversation.com theconversation.com
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That is, we are members of the same species.
This is true but it used to be false. Biologists (Linnaeus) grouped different races into different species. That false classification still has modern-day ramifications.
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They reflect an area of science known as biological taxonomy, the classification of organisms into different groups.
But these facts bear little consequence in day-to-day interactions hence their exotic status. People confuse less and fewer because using one or the other rarely changes the interaction. Calling a cashew a seed or a nut really doesn't change much.
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A koala bear isn’t actually a bear, it’s a marsupial. Whales aren’t fish, they’re mammals. Tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruit. Almost nothing is actually a nut. Peanuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans and almonds: none of them are really nuts (for the record, peanuts are legumes, Brazils and cashews are seeds, and the others are all drupes). Hazelnuts and chestnuts are the exception: they are the elite, the “true” nuts.
When using everyday-English, we follow a different classification system than in Biology.
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Hazelnuts and chestnuts are the exception: they are the elite, the “true” nuts.
Why does this matter?
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