Jim Menegay  wrote:

> john_SPAM{at}wilkins.id.au (John Wilkins) wrote:
> > Jim Menegay  wrote:
> > 
> > > tomhendricks474{at}cs.com (TomHendricks474) wrote:
> > > > So why is #5 out of step?
> > > Because 4 is the magic number.  Unless you convert, that is, to the
> > > Quintarian faith.  You should read "The Curse of
Chalion", by Lois
> > > McMaster Bujold.  Best sci-fi author ever. "Curse"
is more fantasy
> > > than pure sci-fi, but it still was shortlisted for the Hugo.
> > 
> > Quinarianism - William Macleay. Everything exists in osculating circles
> > of four within one.
> 
> [moderator's wait a minute: Did you MEAN "osculating"? Not
"oscillating"?
> I have to look this author up.... - JAH]

Osculating. Macleay's idea was that everything was naturally arranged in
groups of five (my mistake, I said four above) which could be
represented as circles that touched, or osculated (kissin' cousins, sort
of) - it was a kind of Goethean numerology, and inspired Owen to suggest
that there was a relationship - homology - that did not fall into the
trap of misleading analogies such as Macleay and his follower Swainson
made out (tigers and zebras were analogous because they both had stripes
and were hard to train!), although the third site below suggests that
Owen was *following* Macleay.

He was very influential on the subsequent debates in systematics. Darwin
and Huxley both read him closely, and in their reactions were influenced
by both his ideas and mistakes.

http://rjohara.net/cv/1988IOC.html
http://rjohara.net/cv/1996Milan.html
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/MacLeay.html

The Quinarian and variation systems are well discussed in this book:

Nelson, Gareth J., and Norman I. Platnick. 1981. Systematics and
biogeography: cladistics and vicariance. New York: Columbia University
Press.
> 
> Yes, I see it!  In fact, it stands out like a sore thumb.  Can we look
> forward to a new synthesis of Nash, Hendricks474, Bujold, and Macleay?

Why not? All old mistakes are made new again in each generation...
-- 
John Wilkins
john_SPAM{at}wilkins.id.au   http://www.wilkins.id.au
"Men mark it when they hit, but do not mark it when they miss" 
                                               - Francis Bacon
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