[Taxacom] quote of the week

[Pierre Deleporte]

self-quotes of the week :

Sequences are not passing by 'pre-aligned' out there in nature;
but neither do squeletons and anatomies.

Morphologists do have 'alignment problems';
some mammals appear to have 12, 13, or 14 pairs of ribs...
and snakes can show many more
(they were likely paid by vicious molecularists for behaving such a 
tricky way). 

Aligning bird and human squeletons was an enlighting biological conjecture,
despite the frustrating fact that squeletons themselves obstinately 
refused to align spontaneously
(such a lack of cooperative spirit is absolutely baffling ...).

Homologies are concepts, inferred properties,
they are not observable material systems or processes (= changes in 
systems).

Ears exist in  nature as things protruding on living beings, not 
'homologies';
while homologies do not exist in themselves,
except as sequences of thought activities in human brains.

When nobody is thinking some homology, no homology is "existing" 
properly on Earth;
(which is not to say that the homology is erroneous when thought).

Confusing interpretative concepts with objectively 'observable' material 
objects
or processes has one name (at least): naive positivism (pleonasm).

Pierre


Hovenkamp, P. (Peter) wrote :
> John,
>
> >From your opponents you require the same infallibility that you claim
> for yourself. Both are unrealistic.
>
> They observe two sequences. They conjecture an alignment.
> You observe two ears. You conjecture homology.
>
> Same difference. 
>
> Peter Hovenkamp
>
>   
>> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] quote of the week
>>
>> I guess it is radical, but then it's the molecularists who have pushed
>> the distinction (and superiority) of molecules.
>>
>> I can observe or define an ear homology as something that exists in
>> nature. When alignment is involved, as it is so often, homologies are
>> created that do not exist in nature - they are the product of one or
>> more alignment programs. So the sequences are empirical, but the cross
>> species homologies of sequences are not when they are the product of
>> alignment.
>>
>> John Grehan
>>
>>     
-- 
Pierre Deleporte
Université de Rennes 1
CNRS UMR 6552 
Station Biologique de Paimpont
F-35380 Paimpont   FRANCE
Téléphone : 02 99 61 81 63
Télécopie : 02 99 61 81 88