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One man's struggle against impermanence
John Wilkins is an eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and worked at the University of Queensland, in Australia, before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Sydney. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books.
This blog is designed evolved to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...
I also have an Australia-focussed blog: The Drought Resistant Philosopher
The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.
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Category: Humor
Posted on: August 13, 2006 10:35 PM, by John S. Wilkins
Burning silo is holding the next Festival of the Trees and coturnix suggested a poem. So I wrote one:
I think that I shall never see
A definition of a tree
For trees evolved in many ways
With diff'rent forms, in diff'rent days
So resolution of the term
Requires phylogeny, not form
So Aristotle was not right
To hold morphology to light
And think that habitat would be
Enlightening, and nor should we
I know. I amuse myself sometimes... well, all the time, really.
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Comments
One of the best little poems I've ever read. But I don't think Mayr would be too fond.
Posted by: Miguel | August 14, 2006 3:28 AM
That was the point! :-)
Posted by: John Wilkins | August 14, 2006 4:59 AM
It's an excellent little poem but I'm afraid my first - unworthy - thought was of another little work on the subject by S Milligna.
Posted by: Ian H Spedding | August 14, 2006 10:24 AM
This inspired me to write a clerihew:
John Wilkins, philosopher
Human or gorilla?
How to distinguish?
He keeps asking himslf.
Bob
Posted by: Bob O'H | August 14, 2006 12:07 PM
It is no accident that I was a great fan of the Well Known Typing Error, and Puckoon was one of my childhood companions...
Posted by: John Wilkins | August 14, 2006 9:30 PM
You silly twisted boy.
Bob
Posted by: Bob O'H | August 15, 2006 1:41 AM
I don't know who you are, sir, but you've done me a power of good.
Posted by: John Wilkins | August 15, 2006 2:37 AM