What’s in a name OR do you even care?

I am familiar with Mr. Mescalito. I prefer this reality, not the other :)

what we call them and what they call themselves will never match so it's anyone's guess as to what is right.

"that's a cool evergreen, and that's a cool non-evergreen. those are cool birds and so are those. i wish i could fly. whoa, that was a snake, don't care if it's poisonous, i'll give him some room just to be safe. oh wow, that was a cool orange salamander. did you all see that reddish brown bush, that was really neat. man, there are so many cool things out here…"

Just knowing the name does not matter, I will agree with you. Knowing the names is useful if you wish to learn more about something. Try looking up "cool evergreen" and see if how long it takes you to find what you think you saw. Names are the tools we use to communicate with one another. The binomial system makes communication quicker . We name things because it is an efficient way to exchange information. We named elements; try talking chemistry without knowing the names of what you are working with.
Not everyone should care, nor is taxonomy necessary to enjoy the outdoors. That does not mean that it does not really matter. It's a personal issue.

to enjoy the beauty of it all i don't need to know the name. i can always come home and look up what i saw to learn more. i don't need to know the latin name of the tree to enjoy the shade and habitat it proves. the tree certainly doesn't know latin.

I said as much already. No, you don't need to know the name to enjoy it.
On the other hand, if you are familiar with a plant and then see it in a different ecosystem and can appreciate how different it looks, how it has adapted, that is cool too.
If you know which plants are native and which exotic, you can imagine the land the way it used to be.
You can definitely enjoy your life without knowing history but you can also appreciate the present through the past. No one is saying you cannot truly appreciate nature without knowing the names; but there is no need to knock or trivialize knowing a little more about your environment either.

I'm with Kat on this one.

I look at a diamond, and it's pretty enough. My mom, OTOH, has spent hours on learning about diamonds — and I can see quite obviously the deeper thrill / satisfaction she experiences when she see a real gem. OTOH, if I am not terribly interested in going deep on diamonds, then I simply would not have the same reaction toward them — and it's up to me to find my own interests.

In the above example, both mom and I enjoy looking at diamonds. But it would be absurd for me to argue with her that I get the exact same deep, broad and intense enjoyment as she — that prior knowledge is irrelevant.

As well, any of us can find perfect enjoyment listening to classical music. But an experienced conductor will likely get a more intense "high" when every note has hit it just right!

There are countless attractions that make a hike rewarding. We don't have to know the names or characteristics of local fauna and flora to have an enjoyable hike. But knowing them will give us a certain different enjoyment too.

i used to really enjoy electronic music – it was cool, faceless, very anonymous. then i started to get into the bands, the equipment, the styles. it stopped being a careful and fun experience – i started analyzing it, picking it apart, basically i became a gear and music snob.

i enjoy running because i know thing about the gear, how to do it, what i should be doing, i simply bought shoes that felt good, some clothes that fit, and i run.

there is a certain amount of ignorance that allows a large amount of bliss.

Personally, I enjoy knowing the names of flowers, trees, types of rocks, and animals that I come across often. I don't devote a huge amount of energy to classifying everything I see, but knowing certain names (sky pilot, granodiorite, whitebark pines, pine marten, etc.) makes me feel a little closer to the thing I'm looking at. Kind of like running into a friend- it brings back other memories when I recognize them again. I find that I look at things closer when I know what they are- otherwise it's just a pretty flower or bird or whatever, I don't necessarily notice what distinguishes it from everything else.

Oh, I get it now. It's either the happy fun ignorance or the geeky,cold, faceless nit picking no fun thing. Glad we got to the bottom of another black and white issue.

Whatever everyone does regarding names, remember one thing: we humans are language driven animals to the extent that what is not named does not exist for us. Then, it can be a formal name or a ready-made one.

While I don't spend a lot of time at it, for me it enhances the experience to know the names of what's around me–not just birds and flowers, but the mountain peaks, too.

A lightening-up sort of tip: with the macro feature on my camera, I can take good closeup photos of flowers and such (be sure to include the leaves as well). I then look them up when I get home. No need to haul along the flower books! It's a lot harder to do this with birds, though!

For me, what is important is to observe and enjoy the details of my surroundings. Naming individual items, on the other hand, is entirely optional. I do it because I enjoy it. What's unforgiveable is not being aware of your surroundings. Thanks, Piper/Diane, for an excellent writeup!

"there is a certain amount of ignorance that allows a large amount of bliss."

Steve — I agree with you on this one. But knowledge can (and often does) bring a different facet or dimension of enjoyment! After all, if you had derived absolutely no different or additional enjoyment getting into bands, styles and equipment — then what motivated you (and countless others)? It's not just "one-upmanship".

But Steve, you also hit on a second point — deep, deep studying and analyzing can (and often does) bring about a diminishing return — and may even sap the original, carefree fun. But this is a different point though, IMO.

And as the apocryphal story is usually told the botany professor says to the class "Please don't expect me to remember your names-I'd have to forget those of several plants and I'm sure you don't want that to happen".
The way I was trained in plant I.D.the final test was to take you into the shade house to see juvenile trees and shrubs , many without leaves . Tough test-you'd better know branching ,bud forms, bark and seed remnants well . But it comes in handy once you start walking through commercial nurseries or in a electric cart i.d.ing plants in rows at 2 or 3 miles per hour.