| ρ ( @ 2009-11-21 09:18:00 |
This is probably my most significant contribution to science to date
Before I forget, I want to keep you all up to date with the ongoing story of me and the natural history museum. On the 11th (which was the same day I was at Smith for the open house), I received this email from them:
Dear Ms Walmsley
Thank you for your recent email to the Museum and for taking the time to
point out the error in the cladogram in Our Place in Evolution. I'm glad
you enjoyed your visit to the Museum, and wanted to let you know the
outcome of your query.
I have spoken with our anthropology experts and you are quite right that
the latest research shows chimps to be more closely related to humans
than they are to gorillas. The cladogram panel was produced before this
find was made, which is why it shows chimps and gorillas on the same
evolutionary branch. Unfortunately, we are not always able to keep all
our panels immediately up to date with changes to taxonomy, but I will
put this amend on our list of gallery updates to be made, to avoid
confusion for visitors in the future.
Thank you once again for raising this issue with us and we hope to
welcome you back to the Museum soon.
Best wishes
[name]
Copy Editor
Natural History Museum
I'm feeling quite ridiculously proud of myself for this.
