Studyblr of an ib and Abitur student

Hey I'm El, welcome to my studyblr! Here I'll post some useful stuff to help first and foremost me at studying, but feel free to use it too. I'm trying to get an IB and Abitur (kind of like german A-levels) dualqualification. My Higher Levels and Leistungskurse are: German, English, and Biology Feel free to ask me anything, or invite me to your study group! You can find me on @cheesetitan too!

[psychlu]

+ other links:

studying with an anxiety disorder.

how to get rid fo toxic friends.

crystal sticker pack.

my experience with a learning disorder.

aesthetic study music.

ways toxic friends affect your life.

highlighting tips.

ADHD masterpost.

dyscalculia masterpost.

how to write an analytical/scientific essay.

useful programs for school.

my pics.

Have a nice day xx

[compoundchem]

I’ve updated my old organic chemistry functional groups chart to nearly double the number of functional groups featured! You can download it here: wp.me/p4aPLT-89i https://ift.tt/32hIUDB

[tiktokarchive]

[zhimaqiu]

And this is tiktok we need

[my-chemical-angel]

WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I NEEDED IT?????

[coffeeandstationery-blog]

How to do well in a class taught by a crappy teacher

We’ve all been there at some point, and it especially sucks if you’re interested in the subject. Sorry this is long but I really hope it helps!

These are some things that bad teachers have in common, in my experience.

Qualities of a crappy teacher

relies entirely on videos to teach lessons

rarely, if ever, gives notes

doesn’t give reviews for tests either or any clues as to what is actually on the test

if they do give notes, they are disorganized, scrappy, and ultimately meaningless

doesn’t give straight answers when asked questions / answers questions with questions that don’t even make sense

loses your homework/essays all the time

they are genuinely surprised when their students actually do well

tells students not to study a certain thing because it won’t be on the test. Then it’s on the test and you’re screwed.

when showing how to do a problem, they only do the easiest examples ever. Honestly. You would be blessed to get a problem that easy on the actual assignment, where there are now super complicated problems that you have no idea how to do!

the homework assignments they give don’t help you understand the lesson better, it’s just a bunch of busy work.

they hand out a sheet, no explanation whatsoever, and say “alright. go do this” what? Go do what? Rip out my hair? I don’t even know what stoichiometry is and now I have 55 minutes to do it. Fabulous.

if someone does something wrong, the teacher just makes them do it over again and again, without helping the student understand or explaining anything

they hand back your tests five decades after you actually took it. What was the test even on? Same deal with homework and worksheets

They often have a condescending behavior towards students and make students feel stupid when they get something wrong or ask questions

Now that you’ve verified that you indeed have a crappy teacher, here are some tips to actually do well in their class. Impossible? Nope. But it will take more effort to get a good grade in this class and understand the material because you are now both the teacher and the student. (Sorry I talk about Khan Academy a lot, but at the same time, not that sorry because it’s a life saver).

Teach yourself lesson by lesson. If they won’t, you will. Make sure that you are learning the right material, so that you can ace your quizzes/ tests. Yes, it takes time, but it will be worth it once you can finally understand the class, I promise. You can teach yourself by relying on other sources to learn the material, such as the textbook you already have for the class, Khan Academy, and other online resources and study aids.

Don’t rely only on their notes, study materials, or worksheets to study off of or understand the material. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them, you should definitely pay attention to them, as it might give you a clue as to what is on the test. However, you should probably invest some time into making your own notes and study materials outside of class, whether the material is from your class textbook or online resources. 

Khan Academy!!! (It’s completely free and amazing) I honestly can not stress how many times Khan Academy has saved my life and my grades, especially in math and science subjects. If there’s a lesson (or, let’s be honest, an entire class) that you’re having difficulty understanding, just go to KA and find the lesson and they will have videos that take you through it step-by-step. Also, you can pause and rewind the videos if you need to understand something better (unlike crappy teachers) and they do plenty of examples (unlike crappy teachers). I swear I’m not sponsored by them or anything, it’s just a life saver! You can take classes on there in your free time too. For example, I couldn’t fit a personal finance class into my school schedule, so I’m taking it on KA.

Use online sites and resources to help you understand the material. Quizlet is an app for creating sets of flashcards. In my opinion, they are way more helpful than notecards, because they have games using the terms you put in and different methods of studying the material (by spelling, term, definition, etc). Duolingo is great for learning languages and maintaining your vocabulary in a language you are taking in school. You can use SparkNotes to better understand literature and poetry (they also have great studying/ test prep materials). Shmoop is another great resource for poetry. Khan Academy has lessons on math, science, art, music, history, and economics. The Purdue OWL is a life saver when it comes to writing essays; it has everything you need to know about grammar, writing techniques, format (especially MLA format), and mechanics. Basically, it has all the info your crappy teacher failed to give you. 

STUDY. Good teachers go over the material enough to ensure that their students understand the material and they make sure the students are familiar with it. They will also usually go over the same materials in different ways, so that students with different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) can benefit. Crappy teachers? Not so much. Therefore, the material is not ingrained in your mind, so you need to work harder than in other classes to familiarize yourself with the material and make sure you understand it enough to recall the information and be tested on it.

Practice what you’ve learned. Try to find practice quizzes and tests online on the subject and material you are learning. Sometimes there will be mini quizzes at the end of chapters in class textbook. Also, some of the online resources above have quizzes on the specific material.

Talk/ study with other people who are taking the same course or people you know who have taken the class in the past. If your friend is taking the same class as you but they have a different teacher, study with them and ask them for help and notes. If you know someone who has taken the class a previous semester or year, as them for help with the material and advice on tests and passing the class with a decent grade. You can also study with other people in your class, because it is likely that they are in the same position as you and you can all help each other out.

Good luck in your class and thanks for reading, I hope this helps somehow!

[emmastudies]

could you refer me to a masterpiece of your printables?

Hey! Here are all my freebies and a selection of paid ones:

Free printables

2018 monthly planner printables

2018 student printables (includes 2018 overview + calendar, daily + weekly + monthly planner, 30 habit tracker, class overview and timed worklog)

weekly study schedule

weekly planner (monday and sunday start)

weekend planner

daily planner

assessment planner (4 and 10 day options)

subject to do list planner

study session planner

studying printable pack

to do list printables

exam revision printable pack (includes revision checklist, formulas + definitions sheet, essay + project planner, weekly schedule)

note-taking printables (includes dotted, grid, lined, cornell method)

organic chemistry printable

literary techniques and devices sheet

100 days of productivity tracker printable

subject binder covers (editable for your own subjects with 16 colour choices)

Paid printables

ultimate student organiser pack

study and revision pack

college packing list printable

curve of forgetting planner printable

2018 student planner

2018 weekly planner

grade and assessment planner pack

essay guide and planner pack

productivity planner

student reading journal printable

student finance planner

finance organiser

note taking template printable pack

goal and habit planner

project planner printable

citation/reference planner

goal and habit planner pack

customisable weekly study planner

2018 motivational monthly calendar

digital declutter organiser printable

weekly study schedule

weekly meal planner printable

2018 customisable header monthly planner

30 + 31 day habit tracker printable

xx

[veryfunnymemes]

[mistybox051]

!!

[blackxmansxhaki]

Fr? Lemme check this out

[ms-demeanor]

Here’s the link to all of the free online classes offered by Harvard:

https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx

But TBH I prefer the MIT Open Coursewear approach. Feel like taking a class on the policy and economics of nuclear engineering? MIT’s got you covered:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/#cat=engineering&subcat=nuclearengineering&spec=nuclearsystemspolicyandeconomics

In fact they’ve got  you covered with A LOT of their courses, everything from fine arts to immunology.

Have fun :)

[pluto-the-demigod]

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN THE LAST TWO YEARS

[collegeife]

Reblog it and save a life !!

[punchthegoose]

Teachers: Wikipedia is very unreliable *Hands out 25 year old textbooks instead*

[greenhouse-nurse]

Alrighty guys ,gals, and other genders and lack thereof I’m gonna teach ya a thing.

A lot of teachers will go on about not using wikipedia as a source.

“It’s bad,” they say. “I will deduct points if you do it.”

Well wikipedia is actually a great source of information and fuck what your teacher said, you absolutely can use it.

The key though is knowing

A.How to use it.

B. How to source it.

and

C. whether it is good info or trash.

NowFirst Lets look up something on wikipedia. Say your writing a paper on Gregor Mendel and Mendelian Inheritance.

So you zoom over to the Wikipedia page on Mendelian Inheritance.

Now there is a lot of information here. Not all of it is strictly necessary for that essay you are writing. So you read through and suddenly you see something that is good info for your essay.

Boy oh boy this information is useful. To bad your teacher said No Wikipedia Ever.

However there is a loophole.

It’s right there.

No. Go closer.

You see that little four? Its a citation number. Think of wikipedia as it’s own essay. It got it’s information from other sources out there. Just like you are trying to right now. And since there is a citation, it’s going to be listed at the end of the wikipedia article.

Look at citation number 4

Look at that you have your first citation. From Wikipedia.

And look. Do you see it. There is a link. It’s the blue words with the boxy arrow thingamajig.

That thing. Click it.

Why did you leave wikipedia you ask? Wikipedia is great. You have several sources from there. But There is more than what the put in to that wiki article. Those sources Wikipedia gave you are helpful. And now that you are at the source, you can utilize it.

But what if its a book that’s the source.

You can either head to your local library and see if they have it, order it, or avoid the book source. Online sources are just as valuable.

Also do not quote directly from the wikipedia. Quote from the source and then use quote citation.

And MLA citation. Use MLA citation. Since you are linked to the sources cite them. Not the wikipedia.

Your teacher will never know. And now you can finish that sweet essay you got planned.

You’re on your way to greatness.

[shatterstag]

For anybody not aware you can abuse the absolute fuck out of Wikipedia for any papers!

[tikkunolamorgtfo]

I’m an academic librarian and I 100% endorse this post

[gefionne]

I am also an academic librarian and I 100% endorse this post. CITATIONS are important.

[patchworkstudies]

biology resources

so i’m making this to help out my classmates with our biology final and i figured i might as well post it on here too!

tips and advice

highschoolering’s bio study tips

fighttostudy’s advice

how to get an a in bio

more on how to get good grades in bio

resources

sparknotes study guides

crash course biology

khan academy

brightstorm

bio corner

science news

cliff notes

this whole site

cells

explore the inside of a cell

another interactive cell

build a cell

specialized cell simulation

the cell game

cells under a microscope

cellular respiration + photosynthesis

an intro

glycolysis

the krebs cycle

electron transport chain

fermentation

an animation of cellular respiration

photosynthesis interactive video

a photosynthesis game

photosynthesis simulation

photosynthesis song

mitosis + meiosis

mitosis simulation

interactive mitosis thing

mitosis game

meiosis simulation

interactive meiosis thing

mitosis song

body systems

heart song

respiratory system song

digestion song

nervous system song

post about the nervous system

misc

prokaryotes vs eukaryotes

protein synthesis simulation

dna song

enzyme song

brain anatomy

kidney anatomy

more posts

studygene’s biology review masterpost

this massive post of bio resources

and this one

there’s a lot more stuff too if you just go to studysapphic.tumblr.com/tagged/bio and hmu if you can’t find anything!!

[adelinestudiess]

general

writing a strong introduction

writing brilliant paragraphs

8 ways to get past writer’s block by @kiramartinauthor

everything you need to know about the mla format by @studying-and-organizing

the narrative essay + the descriptive essay by @areistotle

cliches to avoid for essays by @appblrgirl

proofread better by @livingbtwnthelines

i’m here for a consult by @scriptmedic

non-writing things to do that can make you a better writer by @bellarosepope

grammar girl’s editing checklist by @anomalously-written

Lemony Snicket’s advice on writing a nice thank you note by @thesnicketfile

how tos

how to write an essay by @captainnaustralia

how to write college level essays by @caesarstudies

back to school: How to get an a*/8 or 9 in an English Lit essay by @thelawgraduate

how to write a university level essay by @healthyeyes

how to reduce your word count by @rewritign

how to write comparative essays

how to write a critical review

how to write a killer unprepared text essay

how to recover an unsaved draft on Microsoft Word by @holyhoee

how to write a history essay by @delphicoracle

tips

tips on writing an essay by my history professor by @busy-bizzy-bee

great writing tips

tip for all my student readers by @afternoonsnoozebuttonalex-blog

those different essay keeps popping up tips by @thisnerdsadventures

tips for writing research papers by @studysection

essay writing tips by @study-well

resources

websites for writing essays by @intellectys

writing apps, extensions and websites by @uglystudies

app recommendation: Hemingway editor by @namaste-shay

list of cute and simple apps/websites/extensions for your writing pleasure by @busymarina

resource for writers by @studyquill

website which grades your essay by @leightaylorwrites

google like a boss by @estudemarina

things almost every writer needs to research by @the-right-writing

who needs wikipedia by @procrastinatioff

guides

a no-nonsense guide to writing an essay by @hufflepuffwannabe

a step-by-step guide to writing a five paragraph essay by @emmastudies

vocabulary

strong and weak verbs masterpost by @gryfhindor

words to replace said, except this actually helps by @ms-mazarin

advanced english vocabulary by @languagesandshootingstars

vocabulary by @belleresources-blog

words to keep inside your pocket by @aurelle

synonyms for words commonly used in student’s writings

words that describe someone’s voice

synonyms for ‘suggests’ in essays by @justkeeprevising

alternatives for overused words by @thestudyingcabin

100 words every high school graduate should know by @kimtented

world building by @createwithwriting

english literature “to emphasise” - alternatives by @studyingboookworm

academic phrase masterpost: connecting words by @jwstudying

writing plots

character development worksheet by @aetherial

how to write characters that feel like real people by @kancrum

20 basic plots by @thewritershandbook

52 short stories in 2 weeks by @ourwritingtherapy

annotate

make sure to read the poem at least 3 times over. skim once, and read twice. Skim and read once each if you don’t think you have enough time. Don’t let the length of it intimidate you.

annotate anything that will help you to answer the question. Answering the question, aside from literary devices on their own, is the most important.

be selective about the quotes and literary devices you find, and identify which ones you can write more about.

annotating effectively by @hideandstudy

how to annotate by @tbhstudying

Other masterposts by me

College

Apps for students

Literature

Notetaking

icon credit to @sensiblestudy

[makingqueerhistory]

So you said queer history didn't start with Stonewall, which is not even surprising at all. However, that's all I've ever been told, so I don't know anything about the time before Stonewall. Do you have a tag, a masterpost, or some articles or something for me to read so I can learn about queer history before Stonewall? And I'm sorry if this comes off as rude or anything; I just genuinely want to learn the untold history of the community I'm a part of. Thanks 😊

First, thank you for coming to us, you didn’t come off as rude at all. 

Well, we don’t have a tag or masterpost, but I can create a list of articles we have up at this point (May 14, 2018) that focuses on queer subjects from before Stonewall.

Sappho, the PoetessKristina, King of SwedenKhnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, and Occam’s RazorJosephine Baker, a Woman with Eclectic TalentsQueer Women and AFAB People During the HolocaustMagnus Hirschfeld, the FounderInstitute of Sexology, a Place of LearningSan Domino, Gay IslandThe Bitten Peach and the Cut SleeveThe End of the World War 2 SeriesVita Sackville-West: Creating a LegacyLangston Hughes: the PoetThe Marriage of Jane and Paul BowlesBjornstjerne Bjornson, the AdvocateOsh-Tisch, the WarriorThe Trials of Oscar WildeSir Ewan Forbes, the DoctorFrida Kahlo: Lover of Self and OthersAlbert D.J. CashierThe Golden OrchidQueen Christina, Queer Codes and Queer Coding (Part 2)Queen Christina, Queer Codes and Queer Coding(Part 1)Different from the Others, the BeginningThe Story of the Ladies of LlangollenWilfred Owen: Dating Your Heroes (And Writing Through Hard Times)Virginia Woolf: Struggling (And Never Being Perfect)Tamara de Lempicka’s LegacyTamara de Lempicka’s LifeFederico Garcia Lorca: Words that Scared a CountryBricktop, and the Happy EndingBricktop, the FabulousFrank KamenySophia Parnok, Russia’s SapphoAnnemarie SchwarzenbachAlan L. Hart, Part 2Alan L. Hart, Part 1Defining Identities in North America, Part 2Defining Identities in North America, Part 1Alan TuringHatshepsutHamish HendersonElagabalus, the EmpressBilly Tipton and the Question of GenderTakatāpuiYukio MishimaKitty GenoveseCatherine Bernard: A question in studying asexual historyGyörgy FaludyEdward CarpenterDawn Langley HallZimri-Lim, King of MariCoccinelleLesbia HarfordKarl Heinrich UlrichsFrieda Belinfante Part 2 Frieda Belinfante Part 1Eleanor RykenerRedefining the Dandy: The Asexual Man of Fashion

I hope this helps! 

[lukeethornhill]

Queer History. The other morning I got into a ‘debate’ over the film Stonewall and one person said he didn’t care about the history of the Stonewall Riots or our queer history in general. Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This person didn’t seem to care that the only reason he (we) has any rights or can even happily come out without the fear of being arrested is because of events like the Stonewall Riots and the people that fought. Yet he enjoys the benefits of it (work equality, marriage, anti-discrimination laws, oh and being able to go to a gay bar and drink/dance the night away). So I wanted to put together a small overview of the riots in the hopes it enlightens anyone or gives someone the nudge to learn more. (If anything is incorrect just leave me a comment, I’m by no means an expert in this). Enjoy. 🏳️‍🌈✌️👭👬

Follow me on Instagram for more

[refinery29]

Drunk History just did a really amazing episode on the Stonewall Riots.

Besides everything, two great things about this episode: 1) The narrator is Crissle West, the woman who narrated the Harriet Tubman episode; and 2) Comedy Central actually cast transgender actors for transgender roles.

Gifs: Comedy Central

Check it out.

[profeminist]

AMAZING Resource Alert: Queer Books for Teens Finder!

http://queerbooksforteens.com/

LOOK AT ALL THE FILTERS YOU CAN SEARCH BY:

http://queerbooksforteens.com/

[british-doodeler-deactivated201]

Reblogging loads so I can always find it

[wordsnquotes]

BOOK OF THE DAY: 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

“No spoilers here, but we will say that the book–which includes a number of photographs and some eccentric typography–ends with what is undoubtedly the most beautiful and heartbreaking flip book in all of literature.” –Booklist

Oskar Schell is unlike any nine-year old you will ever meet. Bright and quirky, it is safe to say he is a little weird. He makes jewelry, he speaks French, he plays the tambourine, he is a Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist, vegan, historian and correspondent with Stephen Hawking and Ringo Starr. When his father passes away in the September 11th attacks, Oskar is left depressed until he finds a mysterious envelope with a key, titled, “Black” in his father’s closet. Filled with inspiration and hope, Oskar embarks on an adventure to find the lock of the key. During his journey, he travels through the five boroughs of New York, where he meets interesting characters with their own survival stories. What begins as an innocent, heartfelt testimonial of loyalty to his father, ends up as a heartbreakingly beautiful climax, which leads to his father’s grave. 

Although the plot seems rather thin, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is far quirkier than you believe. Reflecting Oskar’s intellectualism, Foer’s writing is experimental. With several back stories, including the Hiroshima and Dresden bombing, as well as others’ stories of trauma, Foer’s writing is intuitive: it lacks punctuation and shifts narrative. It contains eccentric, illegible typography (where the words are mounted on top of each other) blank pages, pages with one liners, sweet monologues, illustrations and scribbles. Although it may be perceived as gimmicky, it is highly stylistic and unique. 

Without a doubt Foer’s delicate style adds to the sentimentality of the novel. Make no reservations here, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close will make the coldest heart shed a tear. Foer has created a prose on the exploration of grief and healing. As a result of the highly sensitive topic and young narrator, there are no mild feelings procured here, you will feel a gut-wrenching beautiful ache or a bitter taste in your mouth. Note, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close navigates two extremes of the spectrum, between beautiful sadness and manipulation. 

Get the book here!

Read excerpts from the book here!

College students with an .edu email address, click here!

Facebook  | Instagram |  Twitter |  Pinterest  |  Society6 

[thearialligraphyproject]

Press Ctrl+F or ⌘F to do a quick search!

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Keep reading

[allydsgn]

how do you NOT reblog free textbook sites????

[your-biology-is-wrong]

Fun fact: Gender and Sex are both human made constructs designed to describe natural phenomenon but are not actually based in any biological reality. Much like the concept of “species”, it’s a model, and no model is an actuality - then it would not be a model, it would be a fact. 

In truth sexual characteristics are diverse and varied and do not always match up with sex chromosomes; also, a sexual “binary” of sorts is not constant amongst all living things, and most organisms have other systems of reproduction. 

Furthermore, gender is the suite of societally-defined social roles and behavioral characteristics that is typically assigned based on the externally perceived sex of a child; and does not actually have anything to do with biology - even less so than sex. Even though it is assigned based on this externally perceived sex, a person’s gender does not have to remain with the one assigned; much as we don’t determine people’s careers based on who their parents were anymore, your birth has no limitation on who you are and what gender identity you construct for yourself. Since it is a societally defined construct, people can and do construct more than the two traditional ones, and all are valid. 

Just because you cannot handle your societally constructed worldview surrounding sex, gender, and genetics being dismantled by sociology & biology itself doesn’t mean, additionally, that you have the right to make other people feel unsafe and uncomfortable - in short, that you have the right to remove people from moral consideration - simply because you don’t like having your world view being dismantled. Believe it or not, the complexities of human behavior & the diversity of sex and reproduction in life cannot all be covered in a simple high school biology class. 

So next time you want to say “didn’t you pass biology” remember: a biology PhD student, who graduated from the University of Notre Dame with an actual degree in Biological Sciences, has reminded you that you’re wrong. 

There are more than two genders. 

The end. 

[way-fi-blog]

Sex is biological tough… It’s not a social construct… It’s not time, racism etc. It’s a physics attribute.

[valarie-lynn]

Why are you trying to argue with someone who said species is a constructed model and not a fact? You’re not going to change someone’s mind when they’re that far down the rabbit hole

[your-biology-is-wrong]

Me: Spends 6 years intensely studying biological science and evolution at two major universities with widespread academic acclaim, earning honors and high GPAs and am currently working on a PhD in the subject of biodiversity and evolution 

You: Somehow thinks they know more because you took a couple of classes

Lol

[millenniumvulcanarchive-deactiv]

…Buddy. Buddy. Dude. I really don’t think you want to open this can of worms.

I mean, I know that in school they teach you a very clean, concise, definitive way of doing things and you’ve probably learnt something like the definition of a species is a population of organisms that are able to reproduce and produce viable offspring, or something. But I mean literally anyone who has done even undergrad biology can tell you that that statement is incredibly reductive and incredibly controversial in the scientific community [1][2]. In fact, you probably don’t even need a background in biology to spot the obvious flaw in the logic there, which is the fact that organisms classified as different species do reproduce and produce viable offspring. Quite a lot, actually. Lions and tigers (Panthera leo and P. tigris), coyotes and grey wolves (Canis latrans and C. lupus)… In fact, there’s even a word for new species arising through hybridisation between existing species - hybrid speciation [3]. The great skua (Stercorarius skua) is believed to be an example of this in animals [4], and another interesting one that may be pretty much hybrid speciation in action (though not nearly anything that can be called a new distinct species yet) is the so-called “Eastern coyote”, a population of wild coyotes in the eastern US that are mixed with grey wolf and domestic dog, and can contain as much as 40% non-coyote DNA [5]. 

And, in fact, the ability of two organisms to reproduce and produce viable offspring actually has very little with how we choose to classify them, because evolutionary and genetic relationships are rarely that simple. For example, some species that are the same genus - e.g. horses (Equus ferus) and donkeys (Equus africanus) can interbreed, but their offspring are usually sterile [6], while other species that are different genera to each other can interbreed to produce intergeneric hybrids, some of which are even fertile (for example crosses between false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) [7], or between king snakes (genus Lampropeltis) and corn snakes (genus Pantherophis) [8]). Most “exotic” domestic cat breeds (e.g. Bengals and Savannahs) also fall into this category - for some reason felids are genetically Weird in that a wide variety of species in the family Felidae seem able to interbreed with each other, no matter how different or distantly related they are. I mean…

Look at this shit. Now bear in mind that the domestic cat (Felis catus) is known to be able to interbreed with species in the caracal, ocelot, lynx and leopard cat lineages in addition to those in its own lineage, and if that wasn’t bad enough puma/leopard hybrids are a thing that exist. Those species aren’t even in the same subfamily, let alone genus or genetic lineage - the leopard is classed as subfamily Pantherinae, genus Panthera (P. pardus) while the puma is classed as subfamily Felinae, genus Puma (P. concolor). 

[9]

Although these aren’t even the most distantly related species that are able to interbreed - domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are known to hybridise with guineafowl [10], and the offspring of these crosses are interfamilial hybrids since chickens and guineafowl are classified in different families (chickens belong to family Phasianidae, guineafowl to family Numididae).

And of course another place where the “able to interbreed and produce viable offspring” definition falls apart is with organisms that reproduce asexually or without the need for a sexual partner, which is even more complicated when you consider that some species (for example, some species in the paraphyletic whiptail lizard genus Cnemidophorus) are dioecious, meaning they have separate sexes, and reproduce by producing gametes via meiosis, but have actually lost the ability to reproduce sexually somewhere along the evolutionary line - these species reproduce predominantly or entirely by parthenogenesis (essentially a form of self-cloning) and the Y chromosome has been entirely lost in the population. This also ties into hybrid speciation because it is believed that these parthenogenic species arose from hybridisation between two or three sexual species [11][12], leading to polyploid individuals (i.e. those with ‘extra’ sets of chromosomes) - for example, the all-female parthenogenic species Cnemidophorus neomexicanus is actually a hybrid of two sexual species, Cnemidophorus inornatus and C. marmoratus (or C. tigris, according to Wikipedia), and thus new individuals of this species can be formed either by parthenogenesis in a single C. neomexicanus parent, or sexual reproduction between a male and female C. inornatus and C. marmoratus/C. tigris [13]. Some female parthenogenic species are also able to interbreed sexually with males from sexual species, resulting in hybrids which may or may not also be parthenogenic [14].

So you can ask, well what the fuck is a genus, or a species for that matter, if it doesn’t necessarily indicate whether two animals are genetically similar enough to interbreed or not? And, more to the point, is there a strict set of quantitative criteria that defines whether two populations of organisms are classified as the same or different species? And I mentioned speciation, which brings up the question, when exactly in the process of evolution does one species actually become another?

The thing is, there aren’t actually definitive answers to these questions - if you ask a bunch of biologists what a species is, it’s likely you’ll get different answers. “Species” also has a number of definitions [15][16], mainly depending on the type of organism being studied and the angle it is being studied from. For bacteria, for instance - where “similar enough to reproduce” really isn’t applicable - I think the general consensus is that individuals are grouped together if their genetic similarity to one another is 97-98% or higher, while a similar definition of “organisms that are highly genetically similar to one another” tends to be used for asexually reproducing organisms such as some plants, and parthenogenic animals like whiptail lizards or Bdelloid rotifers (which does of course raise the question of what exactly “highly similar” means - any decided-upon cutoff point will necessarily be somewhat arbitrary). Such groupings of organisms may be referred to as phylotypes to distinguish them from the reproductive definition of a “species” [17]. Likewise, a lot of ecological writing will define species and speciation according to reproductive isolation, which isn’t necessarily synonymous with reproductive compatibility - reproductively isolated populations may be genetically able to reproduce, but be prevented from doing so or unlikely to do naturally so due to differences in geographical location, habitat or behaviour (think lions and tigers). These are some of the many different “types” of species, with either competing or overlapping definitions of what exactly constitutes a species in each case:

Morphological or typological species (morphospecies)

Phylogenetic species

Evolutionary species

Genetic species

Genalogical concordance species

Reproductive species

Autapomorphic species

Ecological species

Recognition species

Phenetic species

Isolation species

Cohesion species

…You get the idea.

For vertebrates, I think generally the two most used definitions are the biological species concept (BSC) and phylogenetic or cladistic species concept (PSC), which differ in their criteria for what they consider a species [18][19]. PSC, for example, doesn’t include a subspecies category while BSC does - and thus, some organisms that are classified as subspecies of the same species under BSC are either classified as different species or are lumped together as the same species under PSC. For example, grey wolves and domestic dogs. The domestic dog is/was often considered a separate species to the grey wolf, for obvious (morphological/behavioural) reasons - the wolf was Canis lupus, the dog C. familiaris - but since dogs are descended from wolves (a now-extinct lineage of wolves, not modern grey wolves [20], but Canis lupus nonetheless) they are more properly classified as a subspecies, C. l. familiaris. Likewise, having also ultimately descended from wolves, the dingo is officially classified as C. l. dingo, although there is some debate about that - at one stage I remember it being classified as a “subspecies” of domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris dingo (and it’s still, to my knowledge, widely considered to be descended from domestic dogs [21][22], in which case the second name would be more correct), while still other people classify it as a completely separate species, Canis dingo [23]. You can see why species boundaries and definitions can get murky, especially when the exact evolutionary origins of a particular animal are unknown or hotly contested.

In fact, canids as a whole are kind of a mess when it comes to phylogeny. How many species of wolf there are really depends on who you ask - some populations traditionally classified as subspecies of the grey wolf, for example the Indian wolf (traditionally C. l. pallipes), the Himalayan or Tibetan wolf (traditionally C. l. chanco) and the Eastern wolf (traditionally C. l. lycaon) have been suggested instead to be classified as separate species - Canis indica, Canis himalayensis and Canis lycaon, respectively [24][25]. Likewise, just last year it was discovered that what was thought to be an African subspecies of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) had in fact been misidentified and was instead an undiscovered species of wolf, now the African golden wolf (Canis anthus) [26]. And then there’s also the fact that, despite being called “jackals”, the black-backed and side-striped jackals actually aren’t very closely related to the golden jackal, or indeed to any of the rest of the genus Canis [27]. In fact, going by the cladogram below, you can see that the African wild dog and dhole - both of which are classed in their own, unique genera (Lycaon and Cuon, respectively) - are actually placed closer to wolves, golden jackals and coyotes than black-backed and side-striped jackals are, even though both of the latter species are considered part of genus Canis (the black-backed jackal is C. mesomelas and the side-striped is C. adustus). Many sources also say that these two species differ from the rest of the group in that they have only 74 chromosomes, while wolves, coyotes, golden jackals, African wild dogs and dholes all have 78. This makes the moniker of genus Canis somewhat useless when trying to determine exactly how genetically similar these animals actually are to one another.

[28]

And this isn’t even touching the issue of the “red wolf” (Canis rufus), a critically endangered so-called “species” of wolf closely related to the grey wolf, eastern wolf and coyote, which more recent molecular and genetic analysis has revealed may simply be a wolf/coyote hybrid [29]. Of course these classifications aren’t set in stone, either - new studies and discoveries are constantly uprooting and rewriting our knowledge of phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among species. Sometimes it’s also pretty much impossible to accurately represent the relationships between similar-but-distinct populations using only the terms “genus” and “species”, which is where alternate concepts like species complex, subgenus and superspecies come in.

Another feature of evolution and speciation that makes classification difficult is what are known as ring species, in which a series of neighbouring populations of organisms may evolve divergently (i.e. undergo allopatric speciation) in such a way that each geographically adjacent or overlapping population can interbreed with the next, but the last population in the “ring” has diverged to the point that it can no longer interbreed with the first (basically, population A can interbreed with population B, B with C and C with D, but D can no longer interbreed with A). 

[30][31]

When does the actual split occur, and at what point in the ring can we consider the populations to be different species? We just don’t know. (And in some cases this is considerably more messy and complicated than even the ring species model makes it seem [32]). The point is, though, that there is no definitive, universally agreed-upon cutoff point at which we can say with certainty that two organisms have evolved sufficiently as to become different species, any more than you can definitively say where along a rainbow spectrum of colours red becomes orange or orange becomes yellow. The decision whether to lump or split taxa becomes even more arbitrary in paleontology than it is with extant species [33][34] - when you’re working with an incomplete fossil record and pretty much going entirely on morphological similarities since genetic or molecular analysis often isn’t possible, there isn’t really a way to conclusively determine whether that specimen you found represents a new species, a new genus, or is simply a larger/smaller/juvenile/unfortunate-looking version of an already-described animal. Many specimens now believed to be juveniles of previously-described species were originally believed to be completely new ones - for example, Nanotyrannus is now often (but not universally) agreed to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex [35], and Dracorex and Stygimoloch are considered immature specimens of Pachycephalosaurus [36]. And then there was the whole deal where Brontosaurus didn’t exist for a while and then it did again and it was all very confusing [37].

Obviously, at the end of the day, a zebra is materially different from a dog in the same way that, to get back to the original topic, a penis is materially different from a vagina (actually a bad analogy since homologous reproductive organs are much more similar to each other than taxa that have been separated for millions of years, but anyway). The biological differences and similarities themselves exist, but any attempt to categorise and quantify them will necessarily rely on socially constructed and frequently arbitrary models, definitions and assumptions. That’s basically what science is - a continuous (and frequently wildly inaccurate) attempt to try to make sense of reality. We often attempt to understand or make predictions about reality using mathematical or quantitative models of the situation or by sorting things into sets and categories, which is useful and necessary in many cases but is also often far too simplistic to be taken as any kind of gospel truth regarding the actual nature of reality, because simply put reality doesn’t care for or abide by human-made rules and categories. Essentially, we’re trying to find quantitative ways to represent things that are by nature qualitative, and that’s always going to be arbitrary to some extent. Obviously biological characteristics (whether genetic, sexual/reproductive, etc.) objectively exist and would continue to exist if humans and human culture were to suddenly disappear, and in that sense, things like sex, gender and taxonomic classification can be said to be based in biological reality. But human attempts to define or categorise these characteristics - for example species concepts, the binary model of sex, etc. - are not in themselves biological realities, and are subject to change based on new information. For example, evolutionarily speaking, “reptiles” (as we traditionally understand them) don’t exist [38]. Obviously this doesn’t mean that lizards, tortoises, snakes, crocodiles, non-avian dinosaurs etc. don’t exist or never existed. It simply means that the socially constructed classification of animals into two distinct, mutually exclusive groups called “reptiles” and “birds” is completely arbitrary and not actually the result of any inherent biological reality (in fact the opposite).

I mean I know how crappy the highschool biology syllabus can be @valarie-lynn so I’ll also link you to the Wikipedia page on species and the species problem, and also to some more on sex and how it’s just as complicated and arbitrary as the concept of species (from Actual Biologists™) if you’re interested. I’ll also leave you with a quote from Charles Darwin:

“From these remarks it will be seen that I look at the term species as one arbitrarily given for the sake of convenience to a set of individuals closely resembling each other, and that it does not essentially differ from the word variety, which is given to less distinct and more fluctuating forms. The term variety, again, in comparison with mere individual differences, is also applied arbitrarily, and for convenience sake .” [39]

…But you know, what would us simple SJWs know about our own fields of study  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Thank god we have the Pro-Science, Pro-Logic crowd to save us from the liberal Tumblr “rabbit hole”.

[your-biology-is-wrong]

Holy fucking shit

Thank you, my friend, for doing what I was admittedly too lazy to do

[unnounblr]

Same.

[froborr]

Of course valarie-lynn is right, there is no point arguing with someone who recognizes the complexity of reality when you’re stuck in simplistic binaries. You’ll just get pwned, but it won’t matter because it doesn’t fit into your simplistic binaries and will therefore fall into the open space between them where your capacity for critical thought ought to be.

[eruditorumpress]

Fun game: read this lengthy and brilliant dismantling of the idea of species being a clear-cut concept, then remember that there are people who believe in the objective genetic reality of race.