| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Brower, Andrew V. Z.
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Review article |
| Source: | CLADISTICS; v. 34, n. 5, p. 562-567, OCT 2018. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 1 |
| Abstract | |
The claim that parsimony can be statistically inconsistent remains the chief criticism of the cladistic approach, and also the main justification for alternative model-based approaches such as maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Despite its refutation in the 1980s, this persistent myth of parsimony's Achilles' heel is entrenched in the primary literature, and has metastasized into textbooks, as well. Here, I review historical controversies, and offer three short arguments as to why statistical consistency is not only irrelevant to systematics, but to empirical science in general. (C) The Willi Hennig Society 2017. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach |
| Grantee: | Lúcia Garcez Lohmann |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |