[Taxacom] domestication of the house cat

[Karl Magnacca]

On Tue, July 3, 2007 1:22 pm, Richard Zander wrote:
> Even if the domestic cat is truly in all respects most closely related
> to the Libyan wild cat, my point is that we have a tendency to accept as
> essentially correct statements that have considerable uncertainty.

Actually, I think a better point to take from the posts on this subject is
that we have a tendency to either praise or trash an article based on our
various biases, preconceptions, and hopes (and based on the typically
poorly-translated popular press), without having actually read it to find
out what it actually says.

> Considerable in this case can mean not much but enough that scientists
> should not act on the assertion.

Um...what kind of action would you expect a scientist to take upon
learning that domestic cats are mostly descended from Libyan rather than
European wildcats?  While it is pretty interesting, it doesn't strike me
as an issue of overwhelming importance with serious implications if
actions are taken on the wrong conclusion.

Karl

=====================
Karl Magnacca, UC-Berkeley
ESPM Dept., 137 Mulford Hall #3114
510-642-4148
http://nature.berkeley.edu/~magnacca