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[-] arctanthrope@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

so basically it's a language problem, not a biology problem? people are incorrectly assuming that any group of species with a word to describe it must be monophyletic, and therefore include all unrelated species which would make it monophyletic?

[-] iilwl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I'm honestly surprised this isn't better understood in this community, at least as an approach to the tree of life system of classification, with or without its merits. I didn't go to college and went to public school that suppressed science education, but this was how I came to understand evolution and that all types of life had a universal common ancestor.

I'm not speaking to the accuracy of the meme, and the science community at large has its criticisms of cladistics, but I'm not sure I would define this as a problem of biology or language, or a problem at all. It is the most common method of evolutionary classification at this time.

Keep in mind I'm a blue collar worker on my lunch break and not a scientist nor college educated. I just like to learn in my free time about a bunch of stuff.

[-] gandalf_der_12te@feddit.org 3 points 2 months ago

the cladistic approach developed for a reason

you know, two organisms might look similar at first, but what's often more important is the set of internal features, such as biochemistry, tolerance of toxins, etc.

if you take all these internal features, you find that they're well-preserved within evolutionary groups; but not within groups that merely look alike

this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2026
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