On Wed, 3 Jul 2024 15:56:13 -0700, the following appeared in
talk.origins, posted by John Harshman
<john.harshman@gmail.com>:

On 7/3/24 3:04 PM, RonO wrote:

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/fossils-show-huge-salamanderlike-predator-sharp-fangs-existed-111645297

The giant salamander with fangs may have lived 280 million years ago,
and they claim that Namibia was in a much colder region of the world at
that time (they claim glacial region).

Click on the link in the fourth paragraph and you can get a copy of the
Nature article to read, otherwise the article is pay walled.

Ron Okimoto

What do you mean by "they claim"? Are you trying to cast doubt on the
Permian glaciation? There's plenty of evidence for it.

It sounded to me that he was saying that there is a claim
that the region now known as Namibia was glaciated. I have
no Idea whether it was, but IIRC there were many regions
which weren't glaciated, just as in all known glaciations.
That he may have been "cast(ing) doubt on the Permian
glaciation" overall seems a bit of a stretch.

--

Bob C.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

- Isaac Asimov

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On 2024-07-04 14:18:43 +0000, John Harshman said:

On 7/3/24 6:29 PM, RonO wrote:

On 7/3/2024 5:56 PM, John Harshman wrote:

On 7/3/24 3:04 PM, RonO wrote:

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/fossils-show-huge-salamanderlike-predator-sharp-fangs-existed-111645297


The giant salamander with fangs may have lived 280 million years ago,
and they claim that Namibia was in a much colder region of the world at >>>> that time (they claim glacial region).

Click on the link in the fourth paragraph and you can get a copy of the >>>> Nature article to read, otherwise the article is pay walled.

Ron Okimoto

What do you mean by "they claim"? Are you trying to cast doubt on the
Permian glaciation? There's plenty of evidence for it.

Why would you think that I was casting doubt on their claims.

That's more or less what "they claim" connotes. Perhaps you misspoke?

Your understanding of "claim" is identical to mine, but this isn't the
first time I've seen it used without any critical intent.

The paper indicates that if the region of Pangea that is now Namibia
was as cold as they think, then amphibians had adapted to colder
climates after diversification during the Caboniferous.

"As cold as they think" is hardly a matter of "if". That part of
Gondwana was near the south pole at the time, and there's all sorts of evidence of a protracted series of ice ages. There were of course interglacials, but there would still have been very long, cold winters.
Think Alaska.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Paleozoic_icehouse

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 37 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

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On 03/07/2024 23:04, RonO wrote:

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/fossils-show-huge-salamanderlike-predator-sharp-fangs-existed-111645297

The giant salamander with fangs may have lived 280 million years ago,
and they claim that Namibia was in a much colder region of the world at
that time (they claim glacial region).

According to what I've read elsewhere, this is a stem tetrapod (and
therefore not a salamander).

Click on the link in the fourth paragraph and you can get a copy of the Nature article to read, otherwise the article is pay walled.

Ron Okimoto

--
alias Ernest Major

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On 04/07/2024 21:29, John Harshman wrote:

On 7/4/24 12:51 PM, RonO wrote:

On 7/4/2024 9:18 AM, John Harshman wrote:

On 7/3/24 6:29 PM, RonO wrote:

On 7/3/2024 5:56 PM, John Harshman wrote:

On 7/3/24 3:04 PM, RonO wrote:

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/fossils-show-huge-salamanderlike-predator-sharp-fangs-existed-111645297

The giant salamander with fangs may have lived 280 million years
ago, and they claim that Namibia was in a much colder region of
the world at that time (they claim glacial region).

Click on the link in the fourth paragraph and you can get a copy
of the Nature article to read, otherwise the article is pay walled. >>>>>>
Ron Okimoto

What do you mean by "they claim"? Are you trying to cast doubt on
the Permian glaciation? There's plenty of evidence for it.

Why would you think that I was casting doubt on their claims.

That's more or less what "they claim" connotes. Perhaps you misspoke?

Perhaps you misunderstood.  They did make those claims in the paper.

The paper indicates that if the region of Pangea that is now Namibia
was as cold as they think, then amphibians had adapted to colder
climates after diversification during the Caboniferous.

"As cold as they think" is hardly a matter of "if". That part of
Gondwana was near the south pole at the time, and there's all sorts
of evidence of a protracted series of ice ages. There were of course
interglacials, but there would still have been very long, cold
winters. Think Alaska.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Paleozoic_icehouse

You seem to want to misunderstand what I wrote.

Don't really want to belabor the point, but "they claim" and "if...as
cold as they think" are just not appropriate for what are well-settled scientific facts. If I said "They claim that whales are artiodactyls" or
"if the mid-Atlantic ridge is a spreading center as they think", what
would you make of that?

I sometimes use "report" when I'm not in a position to endorse something
out of my own knowledge or understanding. I hope this doesn't have the
negative implications of the use of "claim" in this context.

--
alias Ernest Major

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