#ParsimonyGate turned into one big airing of grievances. One scientist called the group a cult and another suggested the editorial must have been either a joke, prank, or hoax.The thing is, few in the field would argue that people shouldn’t use parsimony to sort out phylogentic trees. Even Eisen uses it in his own research—alongside other methods. He even teaches parsimony to his students. It was the editorial’s use of the word “philosophical” that rankled him.
“There are strong philosophical arguments in support of parsimony versus other methods of phylogenetic inference,” the editorial reads. “I’ve never in my life, in any area of science,” says Eisen, “seen something presented where people said, ‘We’re not going to judge something on the science, we’re going to judge it on the philosophy.’”
From: Twitter Nerd-Fight Reveals a Long, Bizarre Scientific Feud | WIRED
Nerd fight? Really? This isn’t a debate about the whether or not Peter Parker is Spider-Man, or Ben Reilly is.Report
Actually, the definition of nerd covers such things as blah blah blah blah blahReport
So legal debates are just Law Nerd fights?Report
As opposed to Law Geek Fights or Law Dork Fights?Report
The really good fights are between the Geeks and the Nerds with the Dorks playing referee.Report
This case strikes me as something much more fundamental that debates over minutiae.Report
Fundamental insofar as “huh, science does this exact same thing too”?
Well… yeah. Science does this exact same thing too.Report
Science!TM had been doing this thing forever – the only difference is that the Pythagoreans didn’t have Twitter.Report
This Airing of Grievances is all well and good, but when do we get to the Feats of Strength?Report