[Taxacom] Somewhat OT, was Re: New species of the future

[Frank.Krell at dmns.org]

I sent a former version of the following a couple of dozen posts ago, but it got stuck somewhere:

Fellow taxonomists,
I do not think that we need stricter or more explicit rules regarding to the grammatically correct formation of names. We probably need more explicit *recommendations* in the Code presenting basic rules of Latin grammar as relevant to the formation of names. Recommendations are not mandatory, but give guidelines for the ones who want to be guided.

I would strongly suggest to remove all grammar related issues out of the mandatory articles of the Code and into recommendations.

I would like to maintain gender agreement as the only grammar-related mandatory rule to avoid disruption, but all the rest just helps to maintain scholarship, but not necessarily nomenclatural stability and universality.

Frank


Dr. Frank-T. Krell
Curator of Entomology 
Commissioner, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
Chair, ICZN ZooBank Committee
Department of Zoology 
Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
2001 Colorado Boulevard 
Denver, CO 80205-5798 USA 
Frank.Krell at dmns.org 
Phone: (+1) (303) 370-8244 
Fax: (+1) (303) 331-6492 
http://www.dmns.org/science/museum-scientists/frank-krell
lab page: http://www.dmns.org/krell-lab

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science aspires to create a community of critical thinkers who understand the lessons of the past and act as responsible stewards of the future.



-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Michael A. Ivie
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 2:41 PM
To: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Somewhat OT, was Re: New species of the future

The reason that important people involved in science (those who allocate money and make hiring decisions) think taxonomists are not important and unworthy of support is that they think we will waste a hundred posts dithering on about the ridiculous issue of ending a name with "a" or "us" in various versions of a dead language that has no connection at all to actual science.  Maybe they are right? Twenty years from now, this conversation will be properly understood as ridiculous.  Get an identifier on a taxon, make sure is it unique, and leave it be.  No one (in the statistical sense) in the biochem department cares (and they have funding for a reason).

Mike


--
__________________________________________________

Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.

Montana Entomology Collection
Marsh Labs, Room 50
1911 West Lincoln Street
NW corner of Lincoln and S.19th
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717
USA

(406) 994-4610 (voice)
(406) 994-6029 (FAX)
mivie at montana.edu


_______________________________________________
Taxacom Mailing List
Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
http://mailman.nhm.ku.edu/mailman/listinfo/taxacom

The Taxacom Archive back to 1992 may be searched with either of these methods:

(1) by visiting http://taxacom.markmail.org

(2) a Google search specified as:  site:mailman.nhm.ku.edu/pipermail/taxacom  your search terms here

Celebrating 26 years of Taxacom in 2013.