Saturday, November 02, 2019
Semantic edge detection
Via ScienceDaily:
Researchers analyzed the genomes of 20 butterfly species and found evidence that many butterflies -- including distantly related species -- have a surprisingly high amount of gene flow between them. The findings challenge conventional views about species, and indicate that hybridization may be a key process in the emergence of biological diversity.The definition of species we "learned" in high school was simple, and made sense for most familiar species of mammals. Two species are distinct when they can't mate with each other. They might try, but no offspring result from the attempt. There were a couple of exceptions like horse + donkey = mule, but mules can't reproduce, so this wasn't a strong exception. After geneticists removed their theory goggles, they started to see LOTS of exceptions. The actual rule is more like: Two species are distinct when they don't usually mate with each other. They could, but they recognize the difference and would rather mate with their own kind. Hmm. That sounds more like races or ethnic groups, doesn't it? And "science" has been INSTRUCTING US with whips and chains that races and ethnic groups are purely imaginary. "Science" screeches that there are no boundaries or distinctions between races or ethnic groups. Now we know why the old poor definition of species has been so furiously defended. Scientists are definitionists. The most important definition is that ALL HUMANS ARE IDENTICAL PASSIVE INANIMATE GRAINS OF SAND. Scientists HATE all definitions that allow individual or group differences among humans, and refuse to allow their high-caste definitions to mate with low-caste definitions. Semantic miscegenation is verboten. In other words, ethnicity is a valid concept for human types, and for butterfly types, and for definition types.
Labels: Language update, metametrology
¶ 7:34 AM
