[Taxacom] suppression in science

[Richard Zander]

Cladistics hangs on like a hangnail. Why the decades long controversy? Well, ....

Continuity in cladistics is through unnamed nodes that represent sets of shared traits. Although cladistics, as a variant of hierarchic cluster analysis, does cluster taxa generally, the continuity between sets of nested shared traits does not model evolution. The details are unsupported by real evidence of serial descent. 

Evolution is best modeled by one taxon giving rise to another, but cladistics is metaphysical with one set of traits giving rise to another. That is why cladistics is considered a kind of religion, and why people like myself remind others that metaphysical reality is not scientific realism.

I say to cladists, c'mon guys, find something new to think. Some of us resist the repetition of delusions in cladistics-oriented journals as an insidious form of scientific gaslighting. This results in chaos that affects alpha taxonomy, Lynn.

Richard

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Richard H. Zander
Missouri Botanical Garden – 4344 Shaw Blvd. – St. Louis – Missouri – 63110 – USA
richard.zander at mobot.org 
Web sites: http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/bfnamenu.htm and http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/ 

-----Original Message-----
From: Taxacom [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Lynn Raw
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2017 10:37 AM
To: Peter Hovenkamp
Cc: taxacom
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] suppression in science

I thought cladistics was a tool for systematics, not a religion. I am not sure where it necessarily comes into play with alpha taxonomy.

> On 3 Dec 2017, at 15:05, Peter Hovenkamp <phovenkamp at casema.nl> wrote:
> 
> This is beginning to look like a specific Taxacom version of Godwin's law: if a discussion continues long enough, someone will blame "cladism".
> 
> It also reminds me not a little of a certain head of state who continues to blame his beaten opponent.
> 
> C'mon guys, get a life. Find something new to say.
> 
> Peter Hovenkamp
> 

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