[tdwg-content] Name is species concept thinking

Richard Pyle deepreef at bishopmuseum.org
Mon Jun 14 10:37:32 CEST 2010


The only problem we're trying to solve here is how a computer can
approximate taxon-concept boundaries (so one can get a proper distribution
map of a species, even if the dots are tied to an assortment of different
names/spellings), but without an ENORMOUS amount of work by humans.  I don't
think Plato or Aristotle, or even Locke were worried too much about that
particular issue.

My contention is that the answer lies with TNUs.  But of course, that's
always my contention.

Rich

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger Hyam [mailto:rogerhyam at mac.com] 
> Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 10:04 PM
> To: Richard Pyle
> Cc: tuco at berkeley.edu; tdwg-content at lists.tdwg.org
> Subject: Re: [tdwg-content] Name is species concept thinking
> 
> 
> On 13 Jun 2010, at 22:04, Richard Pyle wrote:
> 
> > Dude...this conversation has been ongoing for more than 20 years
> 
> Rich,
> 
> I reckon about 2,500 years if you count the kick off as being 
> Plato/Aristotle and the notion of essences (in Western 
> cultures at least) but we are probably more up to date than 
> this - perhaps advancing as far as John Locke in the 17th century.
> 
> What was the 'biological' (rather than epistemological) 
> problem we were trying to solve?
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Roger
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 





More information about the tdwg-content mailing list