Tim Tyler  wrote in message
news:...
> Jim McGinn 
>   wrote or quoted:
> > Tim Tyler  wrote 
> > > Here's Dawkins on the relationship between man and 
> > > chimpanzees:
> > > 
> > > ``The 98% doesn't mean we are 98% chimpanzees.  And 
> > > it really matters what unit you choose to make your 
> > > comparison."
> > 
> > Implicit in Dawkins' statement here is the supposition 
> > that the "unit" can be chosen arbitrarily to achieve 
> > different results in the comparison.  This seems, 
> > obviously, scientifically untenable to me.  Suppose we 
> > were comparing the length of two sticks.  And suppose 
> > we use inches and determine that the first stick is 
> > twice as long as the second stick.  If we were to 
> > employ centimeters instead of inches we would not 
> > expect the relative comparative lengths of the sticks 
> > to change.  
> > 
> > This suggests that the "units" that Dawkins refers to 
> > are not really units and/or that the scale that he is 
> > drawing from is greatly lacking in quantitative 
> > relevance.
> 
> Dawkins is talking about the length of DNA sequence
> being considered.

The fact that Dawkins and yourself are unable to delineate 
this "length" proves my point.

Jim
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