Traits and/or states

[cholewa]

Okay points well taken.  However, if we are teaching about the philosophy of
science and/or logical communication, then the distinction between
observations of objects and communication of those observations via object
properties are important.  But if we are teaching about organismal phylogeny
I see no reason why shortcuts (using characters and states) cannot be
utilized effectively.  Such shortcuts are common throughout science -- after
all the scientific name was (and remains) a shortcut for the multi-worded
observations initially used by Linnaeus.

AFC

____________________________
Anita F. Cholewa, Ph.D.
Curator of Temperate Plants
J.F. Bell Museum of Natural History
University of Minnesota
St. Paul  MN  55108  USA

http://www.cbs.umn.edu/herbarium/vascularplantpage.htm