[Taxacom] Why Taxonomy does NOT matter

[Frederick W. Schueler]

On 4/18/2011 8:36 AM, Richard Jensen wrote:
> We have at least two provenances for taxonomy:  1) communicating
> taxonomic relationships to our taxonomic/biological colleagues in ways
> that ensure consistency when those in different subdisciplines are
> conducting studies on living organisms and 2) providing a classificatory
> system that allows non-specialists to understand what we are talking
> about and how they can deal with biodiversity.

* let's remember the NOT in the subject line - the question, which I 
think is important to all of us (especially those who find their 
dedication to a taxon making them unemployable), is documentation of 
arguments against the importance of taxonomy made by those in a position 
to promote underfunding of taxonomy/systematics.

These arguments are likely to be infrequently and cryptically expressed, 
but it's only when they're out in the open that they can be rebutted. I 
think this excludes both administrative scorn for low-budget research 
and kinkily quantitative methods of evaluating performance in relation 
to academic promotion, both of which have been extensively discussed on 
TAXACOM.

fred schueler
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>> --
>> On 18 Apr 2011, at 09:48, Fabian Haas wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Colleagues,
>>>
>>> my apologies for the subject of this email, but I thing I have your
>>> attention. I am a taxonomist myself, and working a lot to make taxonomy
>>> matter on various platforms, so no need to convince me about the
>>> importance of taxonomy.
>>>
>>> Instead of lamenting again, and preaching to the converted, I would like
>>> to find out, why the donors dont seem to react, what are their reasons
>>> not to fund taxonomic work, at all, or at a level would be useful. So I
>>> am looking for their reasons, why they dont seem to receive our message
>>> that we need to taxonomy. And also why taxonomic aspects are often
>>> deleted form projects when money becomes tight, more often than other
>>> section. Taxonomy seems expensible.
>>>
>>> I do have some suspicions, like they dont know what it is, they simply
>>> dont like the topic, they think everything is known, they thing we dont
>>> need it anyways, its a public good and so available, taxonomy would be
>>> complete, etc.
>>>
>>> So Why does Taxonomy NOT matter??
>>>
>>> Best&   Looking forward to hearing from you!
>>>
>>>    Fabian
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________

-- 

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          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
now in the field on the Thirty Years Later Expedition -
http://fragileinheritance.org/projects/thirty/thirtyintro.htm
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
     RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
   on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
    (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
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