"uncompromising, single-minded"

[Richard Jensen]

Thomas Lammers wrote:

>
> hypothesis.  Cladistics is just a way of creating (and I suppose testing)
> hypotheses.
>

I would be careful here.  The process used to create the hypothesis, e.g., a
cladistic algorithm, cannot be used to test the hypothesis.  A cladistic
algorithm can, given a set of data, yield a hypothesis of relationships.  But,
this hypothesis can only be tested in the face of new data.  Using the same
algorithm with the new data included would be a test of the original hypothesis;
using a different algorithm on the original data would not be a test of the
hypothesis.  You would simply have two competing hypotheses; if both algorithms
yield the same hypothesis, then they are consistent for the data at hand, but I
don't believe wither can be viewed as a test of the other.

Dick
--
Richard J. Jensen              | tel: 574-284-4674
Department of Biology      | fax: 574-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         | e-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame, IN 46556    | http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rjensen