Humans are apes, apes are monkeys, paraphyletic groups are bullshit.
Comment on Typing monkey would be unable to produce 'Hamlet' within the lifetime of the universe, study finds
gwen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months agomonkey who more or less did that already. His name is William.
???
Klear@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
To be entirely fair, apes aren’t monkeys. I don’t think that particular distinction is really all that relevant to the discussion, but technically…
Klear@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, constitute an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope.
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Oh neat. This is all taxonomy that is well beyond me. My defense of calling humans monkeys is that everyone does it, and that’s how language works. Glad to know I’m correct too, technically lol
gwen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
isnt that a misconception? apes just share a common ancestor with us
HelixDab2@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Well. technically he was an ape rather than a monkey.
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Technically true, I think it still fits for the layman.
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Ol Bill Shakespeare. He wrote Hamlet, one correct letter at a time.