Category Archives: Philosophy

“Toroceratops” Matters, as an Open Discussion

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

So there’s this debate, which I may have discussed — more than once, twice, or thrice – before, in which it is argued that the taxa Triceratops and Torosaurus represent young adult and old adult representatives of the same species. … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontology, Philosophy, Taphonomy, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

Dr. Alan Feduccia is struggling for relevance. One might say this about much of his career, from his first big book on birds (1980′s The Age of Birds), to his repeat performances (The Origin and Evolution of Birds, 1996′s first … Continue reading →

Posted in Creationism, Paleontology, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Happenings

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

Work eludes me; pneumonia plagues me; and the troubles of family follow. I sit here working out the possible implications of laying out much of my work that I want to do with oviraptorids, setting out possible muscle masses, moments, … Continue reading →

Posted in Meta, Philosophy | Tagged | 8 Comments

Where I Question Commitment to Value of Open Access Everything

Posted on October 22, 2012 by

It is OA Week, so while this post would normally fall into the Thursday slot for my ‘regular” posting, I am putting it up now as my post for the remainder of the week.

Posted in Media, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Whose By-Line?

Posted on August 30, 2012 by

Recently, Mike Taylor recalled the issue of the effectiveness (or rather, ineffectiveness) of peer review and the standard publishing system (here, here and here are the most recent entries), and this included a small discussion on the form and necessity … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged | 8 Comments

The Genus Question — Impact of New Archosaurian Binomina

Posted on August 6, 2012 by

So, what exactly would happen if — as I suggested both here and mentioned in the comments here — we went down that slippery slope, and distinguished all species as their own unique, equivalent taxa? How many new “genus”-like names … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Systematics, Taxonomy | Tagged , | 10 Comments

“You Keep Using That Word”

Posted on March 18, 2012 by

Behold another rant on nomenclature, posted on the Dinosaur Mailing List recently. I am slightly modifying it for consumption here.

Posted in Philosophy, Systematics, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Something Is Wrong Here

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Eugene Gaffney, turtle expert from the American Museum of Natural History & David Krause, mammal expert from the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University, both in New York State, US, have recently described  a new fossil pelomedusoid turtle … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Taxonomy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Can Evolution Be Recursive?

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

This isn’t necessarily about how stick insects have re-evolved wings in lineages in which the wings have completely disappeared … several times over. This is about how evolutionary processes work in odd ways to potentially redevelop a condition which, historically, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , | 3 Comments

More on Relative Evil

Posted on February 3, 2012 by

The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new article out (actually published Jan 22nd) by Jennifer Howard that sets out a more nuanced view of the outcry against the RWA (the Research Works Act, otherwise known as H.R. 3699) than … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments