Re: Who says dromaeosaurs can't fly?

[philidor11@snet.net]

You said:
<Let's get this straight: cladistics is a method used to discover 

relationship, no more, no less. Cladistics can resolve phylogeny 
if 
given enough information; but it cannot provide us with answers 
about 
behaviour.>

Careful, please.  Cladistics is a mechanism used to develop hypotheses 
about relationships, no more, no less.  (Well, it's also used 
for naming conventions, but you know what I mean.)
It has no more claim to 'resolve phylogeny' than any other method; 
that's far too definitive.  To me, its advantages include thorough 
documentation, a stated method of evaluation ('parsimony' for 
example), and the ability to perform the same calculation on 
a different machine to identify mechanical error.
Its disadvantages include (humor alert) overconfidence...



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