They weren't "missing": GPS-tagged red-footed falcons revealed that they migrate to a tiny communal roost in central Angola (“Falcopolis”) each February–March.
There, saved you a click (disappointed on National Geographic for that clickbaity headline).
Is this actually clickbait? The title is in the form of many clickbait title, but I'd argue it delivers; the article is more interesting than the title.
I suggest readers spend the click and the five minutes.
I just looked it up and MW’s definition of “missing” is “absent” or “lost” or “needed or expected but not included”. Dictionary.com says “absent, not found, or lost” and “lacking”. Wiktionary says “Not able to be located; gone, misplaced”, “Not present when it (they) should be”, and “Of an internal combustion engine: running roughly due to an occasional lack of a spark or other irregular fault.”
A common theme is that for something to be “missing,” it should not be where you expect it to be. But if your expectation is invalid, then it’s not “missing,” you simply have wrong expectations, which is the case with these falcons.
For example, I could say that there are a million falcons missing from my front yard right now. Do you think that’s a valid way to describe it?
You have a valid reason to expect that your keys are in the place you remember leaving them.
That’s not the case with large flocks of living animals. In that case, you’re simply making a category error in imagining that those living animals behave much like your keys.
disappointed on National Geographic for that clickbaity headline
I don't think there's a single name brand from "before internet" that has survived without turning into a clickbait chaser of ad revenue above all else.
Comments
They weren't "missing": GPS-tagged red-footed falcons revealed that they migrate to a tiny communal roost in central Angola (“Falcopolis”) each February–March.
There, saved you a click (disappointed on National Geographic for that clickbaity headline).
Is this actually clickbait? The title is in the form of many clickbait title, but I'd argue it delivers; the article is more interesting than the title.
I suggest readers spend the click and the five minutes.
It's written by Ed Yong, who is a national treasure.
Hell yes, you should read it.
They were missing. Then they used GPS tags to locate them.
That’s why the article is titled “ A Million Falcons Went Missing. Here’s How They Were Found”.
Something was unknown, then we used sensors to solve the mystery. Wild, isn’t it?
I wish I could put gps tags on things after they go missing...
Well you can if those things first come back for a time
According to the dictionary definition of "missing", they were not missing.
At best, our assumptions about where we expected to find them were wrong.
What dictionary are you using?
I just looked it up and MW’s definition of “missing” is “absent” or “lost” or “needed or expected but not included”. Dictionary.com says “absent, not found, or lost” and “lacking”. Wiktionary says “Not able to be located; gone, misplaced”, “Not present when it (they) should be”, and “Of an internal combustion engine: running roughly due to an occasional lack of a spark or other irregular fault.”
Why do you think any of those definitions fit the case of the falcons?
I took a look at “MW’s” web definition and it seems singularly lacking. Perhaps you should consider purchasing a real dictionary.
Cambridge is a bit better: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/missi...
A common theme is that for something to be “missing,” it should not be where you expect it to be. But if your expectation is invalid, then it’s not “missing,” you simply have wrong expectations, which is the case with these falcons.
For example, I could say that there are a million falcons missing from my front yard right now. Do you think that’s a valid way to describe it?
So my keys have never truly been missing, eh?
You have a valid reason to expect that your keys are in the place you remember leaving them.
That’s not the case with large flocks of living animals. In that case, you’re simply making a category error in imagining that those living animals behave much like your keys.
So everyone else's keys are missing materially all of the time?
Thank you for summarizing! TIL about the Falcopolis in Angola.
I don't think there's a single name brand from "before internet" that has survived without turning into a clickbait chaser of ad revenue above all else.
The term for this is "late stage capitalism".