Re: does hubey have a point?
David Froehlich (eohippus@curly.cc.utexas.edu)
Tue, 10 Oct 1995 16:20:34 -0500
On 9 Oct 1995, H. M. Hubey wrote:
Once again I can't believe I am answering thia guy. (in no way is my
anserwing this to be considered a validation of Mr. Hubey's ability to do
science (or at least this science))
On 9 Oct 1995, H . M. Hubey wrote:
> Then the fun part comes. YOu can do this will all sorts of bones.
> And you can do this with full bodies too. And then what. Well
> this is where you can finally produce numbers which will
> measure "distances" (morphologically) of skeletons from
> other skeletons.
fundamental assumption here that the transition was continuous and monotonic
>
> And that is what you want; "distances". Because the analogical
> reasoning that is used is based on "similarity". And
> the word "similar" really means that the "distance" between
> the two is shorter than the distance between two that are
> not similar.
Once again, Mr Hubey demonstrates his ignorance of the methodology that
we use. We are not looking for "similarity" or for "morphological
distances". As a systematist, we use shared derived features,
evolutionary novelties to unite groups of organisms into clades. Why
does throwing numbers at a problem help at all? This does not mean that
I disagree that quantification is not something to be strived for, rather
I disagree that a number is necessarily better than a word. Mr. Hubey
wants us to quantify bipedality-quadrupedality, while I think this is a
gross oversimplification of the problem. Just within ungulates there are
numerous ways of being quadrupedal, and Mr. Hubey wants us to lump all of
that diversity into a single number. Ultimately my concern is that
numbers without understanding is no better than drivel (which I submit
has not been in short supply on these posts).
> Pay attention to what I write. Don't read into it what you
> want to read into it. What you comprehend is a function
> of not only what i write but also your own capability.
>
And your understanding and ability to communicate. Besides, why should we
bother to pay attention when the reverse is pattently not the case.
David J. Froehlich Phone: 512-471-6088
Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory Fax: 512-471-5973
J.J. Pickle Research Campus
The University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712
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