3 comments

  • culi 48 minutes ago
    Trees "calculate" which branches to drop based on data they gather as they grow. A competent and experienced arborist knows how to read the tree and simply safely cut off the branches that the tree was already intending to drop so that it doesn't fall on your house or whatever. Inexperienced arborists often ignore this key dendrology fact and may totally butcher your tree. In the process they can create an even larger risk of a tree falling over onto your house during a storm

    It's called cladoptosis (basically self-pruning) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladoptosis

    EDIT: since I'm on the topic of bad tree trimming, NEVER TOP YOUR TREES https://www.arborday.org/tree-resources/dont-top-trees

    • vlyan 2 minutes ago
      >NEVER TOP YOUR TREES

      they do it where I live because the branches bang against apartments' windows when it's windy. I don't think there's another low-maintenance solution.

  • zekefoppa 1 hour ago
    Imo the title here buries the lede: we've known that trees form tension wood in response to external stress. This study claims to find that trees will form it in response only to their own curvature, independent of external factors even including gravity. They compare it to proprioception. That's neat!
    • N_Lens 58 minutes ago
      I thought ‘interoception’ might also be appropriate in this context.
  • N_Lens 1 hour ago
    Let me take this opportunity to remind HN readers - Posture & Hydration Check!
    • emerongi 47 minutes ago
      Or: drink when you feel thirsty and change your position when your back gets tired.
      • culi 27 minutes ago
        Yes, the science has moved to "drink when you're thirsty" a long time ago and it's annoying how many people believe drinking 3 liters of water per day is a key tenant of human health.

        (most of) Our bodies are quite good at telling us when we should drink more water. You should never be forcing yourself to drink

        https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-mi...

        https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313389

        All that being said, I'm not sure GP was necessarily endorsing the idea that you should drink a certain amount of water a day. I read it as a suggestion to pull away from the screen and listen to your body

        • dyauspitr 5 minutes ago
          But why? unless it’s a copious amount of water like a gallon or more in an hour or two or something insane like that what is the problem with drinking water? I would assume it would just have positive effects.
      • Zarathustra30 29 minutes ago
        Some folks' interrupts are buggy, so they resort to polling.
        • layla5alive 18 minutes ago
          ADHD hyperfocus disables most interrupts.. very task efficient, at the expense of all else :/