4 ms·
Why on earth would someone not call the first airplanes an earlier form of the Boeing 747?
by throw_pm23 2y ago
Why on earth would someone not call the first airplanes an earlier form of the Boeing 747?
- throwaway19972 2y agoPerhaps because this wouldn't make sense in contexts where you're discussing what distinguishes the Boeing 747 from other planes. If you're comparing to, say, velocipedes, it makes a lot more sense.
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoThe first airplanes are an earlier form of the airplane. The 747 is a later form of the airplane. That doesn't make the earlier airplanes an early form of the 747. In the same way, cats are a smaller form of a mammal, and giraffes are a larger form of a mammal. That doesn't make cats a smaller form of a giraffe.
- dleeftink 2y agoI'll bite: what doesn't make cats a smaller form of a giraffe? We just have to squint a little on the spiney level
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoThe definition of giraffe is what makes a cat not a smaller form of giraffe. It has a definition, and the definition isn't just "thing with a spine" or even "mammal". From dictionary.com: "a tall, long-necked, spotted ruminant, Giraffa camelopardalis, of Africa: the tallest living quadruped animal." A cat does not fit that definition, no matter how hard you squint.
- dogleash 2y agoITT: Hacker News reinvents taxonomy from first principles.
- traceroute66 2y ago> Why on earth would someone not call the first airplanes an earlier form of the Boeing 747? Because you need to draw the line somewhere reasonable. Otherwise, why don't we take your logic one step further and say an aluminum sheet is an earlier form of the Boeing 747 ? The difference between the Wright Brother's plane and a Boeing 747 is simply too enormous to be a logical "earlier form". The only thing the two share are the fundamental physics of aerodynamics. And even then, we are only talking the sort of shared aerodynamics you'll learn about at an aerospace museum on a school trip when you get to put a piece of cardboard in a wind tunnel. Its a bit like saying a donkey is an earlier form of a car. Well, sure, people used to use donkeys extensively for transport. But I think most people would agree calling it an earlier form of a car is pushing it.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- asdff 2y agoImagine you are on an archeologic excavation and you find a roman chariot. Would you call this an ancient Honda Civic?