Thursday, May 23, 2024

Berating Eponymns


"There is also another unmeaning custom, which it is still more essential for us to get rid of. I mean that of naming subjects of Nature, after Persons, who have plumed themselves with those childish ideas of their being the first discoverers of such or such things." – Charles W. Peale, c. 1799; unpublished writings. https://matthewhalley.wordpress.com/2022/03/29/eponymous-bird-names-feed-ornithologists-vanity-without-enlightening-the-science/

 "Just like statues, buildings, and street or suburb names, we think a reckoning is due for scientific species names that honour people who held views or acted in ways that are deeply dishonourable, highly problematic or truly egregious by modern standards," Thiele wrote.

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