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On global biodiversity estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Edward O. Wilson*
Affiliation:
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Extract

All measurements and estimates have meaning, if consistent with peer-reviewed data and gifted with heuristic value. In pure science, we judge measures and estimation techniques by their importance to theory. We devise them for maximum relevance, and advance their reliability and precision by successive approximations. If better measures and estimation techniques come along, either by shifts in theoretical context or advances in technology, we discard the old and use the new.

Type
Matters of the Records
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

Literature Cited

Lawton, J. H., and May, R. M., eds. 1995. Extinction rates. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Wilson, E. O. 2002. The future of life. Knopf, New York.Google Scholar