single vs double i

[James Lyons-Weiler]

For a person to lose a position (or even their reputation) on minutia as
how many ii's are at the end of an epithet is preposterous and a clear
example of malfeasance.  The ultimate arbiter of what an organism is
cannot be what we decide to name it (individually or by convention).
Despite the conventions and congresses, evolution has distributed
characters among the taxa we seek to study, in one way or another
(hierarchical or not).  Popper (in various references, none of which are
to hand) tried to make clear two perspectives that help to define science,
and that seem to be of particular relevance: the first is an admission of
ignorance; the second is a warning about semantics.  Ignorance on the
identification of a taxon occurs if a mistake if made in the
determination of what the thing is (or is not); admitting that this is
possible results in the discovery of cryptic species, for example, and
what we used to call the thing changes anyway.  The warning about
semantics goes to worrying about actual and perceived differences in
things that occur when we refer to them using different symbols (words,
letters, utterances).  Science does not occur by resolving semantic
differences. If taxonomy is science (I believe it is), then do science.

Kuhn's take on the matter would be that progress in taxonomy can only
occur when a critical mass of common thought renders an old paradigm
obsolete, and ushers in a new one.  I don't forsee a successful
revolution in taxonomy as a process anytime soon.

May I be so bold as to suggest that there are larger differences between
this particular employer and employee than a single letter?  Personality
has a place in science, but with the realization that personal differences
can and do exist to the detriment of science, one must look beyond the
short-term conflict and bring to mind the possible long-term influences of
allowing the conflict to impinge on the scientific process.

I offer my condolences to Dr. Joseph L., and do not envy his position.

James Lyons-Weiler


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