RE: BAD vs. BADD (was: Re: Most popular/common dinosaur misconceptions)

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Tim Williams
>
> Scott Hartman wrote:
>
> >The fact that on this very list it was claimed that inner ear bones (which
> >are likely homoplastic anyways) and fur makes whales, bats, and pyrotheres
> >all mammals, while running with slightly less femoral excursion makes
> >extant birds different from theropods, shows how badly misleading the
> >system is.
> >
> >As a gauge of disparity, the Linnean system is an absolute disaster.
>
> Well said, Scott.  The Linnaean system is an absolute disaster in terms of
> both disparity AND diversity.
>
> This is taxonomy's 'dirty little secret': ranks are, and have always been,
> utterly subjective.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Or keyboard. Or... whatever.
>
> On a tangential note... the IAU has decided on new criteria to define a
> 'planet'.  Pluto has been cut, and there are now only eight planets in our
> solar system.  (I don't think I could ever get my mind around Pluto and
> Charon being 'twin planets'.)  Jeff's predictions were true - well done!

Although I personally preferred the definition that would have returned Ceres 
to planetary status, as well as Charon and "Xena", at
least they have a repeatable definition to work with now.

And making Pluto the prototype of its own category of dwarf planets is a fine 
idea, and entirely analagous to what happened with
Ceres. Originally "just another planet", Ceres became the prototype of the 
brand-new category "asteroid" once it was found that it
was simply one of a whole cluster of similar worldlets.

And fie on those who say "but if there are only 8 planets they'll have to 
change the textbooks."  Well, duh! You can either do
Science (in which knowledge is tentative and accumulative and subject to 
additional modifications with new study) or you can follow
dogma.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
        Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
        Mailing Address:
                Building 237, Room 1117
                College Park, MD  20742

http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796