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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Statistical consistency and phylogenetic inference: a brief review

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