It seems to me that even within biology (as it is currently taught) there are clear distinctions of skills/mental habits between specializations. Also, there are ‘tribes’ like (classic) naturalists (who don’t rely on molecular&genetic studies much) and ‘general biologists’ (who do), which makes the s/mh differences harder to visualise.
For example, i would expect that a field botanist should would be able to see patterns in pictures (of grouping, spacing, geometrical transformation) better than a biotechnologist, given equal training, because visual recognition of patterns is vital in describing habitats. But i would expect the biotechnologist to hold more steps in mind if they are asked to analyze a time sequence of events, and so be better at patterns that are, well, cascading.
I would also expect the botanist (and even more so, a zoologist) to consider a pattern shown inside a non-rectangle field to be a view of something whole, not disjointed, if there are interconnections, the upper half is different from the lower half or the whole pattern is radially oriented, and the field itself is either radially symmetrical or at least oblong. Simply because we saw so much cross-sections in the course of our studies, and the first and most recognizable feature of a high taxon is… body plan.
That last might be easily manipulated by priming, of course, and i don’t have evidence one way or the other. What is your experience?
It seems to me that even within biology (as it is currently taught) there are clear distinctions of skills/mental habits between specializations. Also, there are ‘tribes’ like (classic) naturalists (who don’t rely on molecular&genetic studies much) and ‘general biologists’ (who do), which makes the s/mh differences harder to visualise.
For example, i would expect that a field botanist should would be able to see patterns in pictures (of grouping, spacing, geometrical transformation) better than a biotechnologist, given equal training, because visual recognition of patterns is vital in describing habitats. But i would expect the biotechnologist to hold more steps in mind if they are asked to analyze a time sequence of events, and so be better at patterns that are, well, cascading.
I would also expect the botanist (and even more so, a zoologist) to consider a pattern shown inside a non-rectangle field to be a view of something whole, not disjointed, if there are interconnections, the upper half is different from the lower half or the whole pattern is radially oriented, and the field itself is either radially symmetrical or at least oblong. Simply because we saw so much cross-sections in the course of our studies, and the first and most recognizable feature of a high taxon is… body plan.
That last might be easily manipulated by priming, of course, and i don’t have evidence one way or the other. What is your experience?