Epistemology Homology and analogy 27 Aug 201018 Sep 2017 Last time I noted that phylogenetic classification was based on homologies, which I have elsewhere discussed. Now I want to consider how we might generalise it across all the sciences. And in particular I want to consider the other form of classificatory activity, by analogy, might also generalise. This will… Read More
General Science Correlation does not imply causation 20 Dec 2009 One of the oldest fallacies is the “fallacy of affirming the consequent“. Basically it is the logical form of the old statistical fallacy of taking correlation to imply causation. Just because two things are true doesn’t mean there is some kind of causal relation, or even logical relation, between them…. Read More
Administrative The “who” thread 8 Jul 2010 I am, as they say in The Home Country, gobsmacked. I expected that I would have a few geeks (I’m a Geek! Say it Loud!) who read me because I was sort of interesting. Instead I find Phuds, scientists, philosophers and just plain interesting people. If one is judged by… Read More
This is the best part: When you go to the cartoon, on its page, the image’s title element in the HTML shows up when you mouse over it. It reads “Birds are Aves, which is part of the clade Theropoda, which is in Saurischia, which is in Dinosauria. Those birds outside our windows are dinosaurs. We can clear out the rest of our brains because we now have the best fact.”
This was picked up by Pharyngula and Panda’s Thumb simultaneously. I put it down to simple envy of theropod neontology, easily the best of the taxon-based sciences.