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Numerical taxonomy: criticisms and critiques: Presidential address to the Systematics Association, November 1970
P. H. A. SNEATH,
P. H. A. SNEATH
Medical Research Council Microbial Systematics Unit, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester
Search for more papers by this authorP. H. A. SNEATH,
P. H. A. SNEATH
Medical Research Council Microbial Systematics Unit, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Some recent criticisms and critiques of numerical taxonomy are reviewed, together with some of its present shortcomings. It is pointed out that most of the problems are equally severe for orthodox taxonomy, and many of them can only be investigated by numerical techniques. The reasons for the general success of numerical methods in bacterial classification are discussed. Besides bringing deeper insights into taxonomy as a whole, numerical taxonomy is entering a new and heuristic phase, which includes potential applications to the study of evolution.
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