Editing 2269: Phylogenetic Tree
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by PHYLOGENETIC MARCH MADNESS BRACKETS. The names on the tree should be explained (mentioned) Duke etc. There have been other comics about this madness - links. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
+ | In biology, {{w|phylogenetic tree}}s are a way of showing evolutionary relationships with the most recent common ancestor at the root of the tree. | ||
− | + | Each year in the United States, in March and early April, 68 NCAA Division I {{w|college basketball}} teams play in a {{w|single elimination}} postseason tournament to decide a national champion of college basketball. This tournament is colloquially known as {{w|March Madness}}. Associated with this tournament, it has become commonplace to guess the outcomes of each game, and predict who will win the tournament. A diagram illustrating the progress and elimination of teams through the tournament is called a {{w|Bracket (tournament)|bracket}}. | |
− | + | [[Randall]] has replaced the trees in a biology paper with a basketball {{w|March Madness pools|March Madness bracket}}, which is not related to biology. The 2019-20 NCAA college basketball regular season had not ended yet at the time of this comic's publication, so the partial bracket shown is a fictional bracket. [[:Category:Tournament bracket|Tournament brackets]] are a recurring theme at xkcd. Compared to a phylogenetic tree, the 'root' of a tournament tree is the final result (once known), rather than the common ancestor that was prior in time to all those that came after; the 'leaves' are all the initially hopeful competitors, rather than the latest extant (or unsucceeded extinct) organisms. | |
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− | [[Randall]] has replaced the trees in a biology paper with a basketball {{w|March Madness pools|March Madness bracket}}, which is not related to biology. The 2019-20 NCAA college basketball regular season had not ended yet at the time of this comic's publication, so the partial bracket shown is a fictional bracket. Compared to a phylogenetic tree, the 'root' of a tournament tree is the final result (once known), rather than the common ancestor that was prior in time to all those that came after; the 'leaves' are all the initially hopeful competitors, rather than the latest extant (or unsucceeded extinct) organisms. | ||
The title text shows the inverse of what the comic says: Apparently the March Madness bracket pool removed Randall after he tried to introduce biology-related evidence comparing the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA) and {{w|American Basketball Association}} (ABA) to organisms and claiming the ABA is an {{w|endosymbiont}} living inside the NBA. An endosymbiont is an organism living inside another organism. In a way, this can be considered true of these two leagues, as the NBA and ABA {{w|ABA–NBA merger|merged}} in 1976 after which the ABA ceased to exist. 4 teams from the ABA, the {{w|Denver Nuggets}}, {{w|Indiana Pacers}}, {{w|Brooklyn Nets}} and {{w|San Antonio Spurs}}, continue to exist today as NBA teams. It is additionally humorous that Randall brings up the ABA/NBA merger in a March Madness bracket group, as March Madness is a college basketball tournament, as opposed to professional basketball played by the NBA and ABA. | The title text shows the inverse of what the comic says: Apparently the March Madness bracket pool removed Randall after he tried to introduce biology-related evidence comparing the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA) and {{w|American Basketball Association}} (ABA) to organisms and claiming the ABA is an {{w|endosymbiont}} living inside the NBA. An endosymbiont is an organism living inside another organism. In a way, this can be considered true of these two leagues, as the NBA and ABA {{w|ABA–NBA merger|merged}} in 1976 after which the ABA ceased to exist. 4 teams from the ABA, the {{w|Denver Nuggets}}, {{w|Indiana Pacers}}, {{w|Brooklyn Nets}} and {{w|San Antonio Spurs}}, continue to exist today as NBA teams. It is additionally humorous that Randall brings up the ABA/NBA merger in a March Madness bracket group, as March Madness is a college basketball tournament, as opposed to professional basketball played by the NBA and ABA. | ||
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The bracket shows the Duke University basketball team winning the NCAA college basketball tournament. Strangely, it shows Gonzaga University linked only to explicitly non-Gonzaga branches, suddenly appearing out of the bottom section, which is not possible in a sports bracket context, but possible in biology if Gonzaga is an identified ancestral root with all descendant evolved species identified by a new term. In fact, the implied unchanged continuity of Duke from 'universal ancestor' to niche population sharing the world with all of its diverged and re-evolved outbranchings (rather than perhaps used as a term for a typically broad cladistic group of branches, such as Archaea) would be more curious - or just imply an inherent of available precision in the necessary paleobiological studies that classify the proposed UA and its descendency. | The bracket shows the Duke University basketball team winning the NCAA college basketball tournament. Strangely, it shows Gonzaga University linked only to explicitly non-Gonzaga branches, suddenly appearing out of the bottom section, which is not possible in a sports bracket context, but possible in biology if Gonzaga is an identified ancestral root with all descendant evolved species identified by a new term. In fact, the implied unchanged continuity of Duke from 'universal ancestor' to niche population sharing the world with all of its diverged and re-evolved outbranchings (rather than perhaps used as a term for a typically broad cladistic group of branches, such as Archaea) would be more curious - or just imply an inherent of available precision in the necessary paleobiological studies that classify the proposed UA and its descendency. | ||
− | As of the publish date of this comic, all of the college basketball teams mentioned (except the University of Virginia) were ranked in the top 25 of the {{w|AP Poll|Associated Press poll}}. The University of Virginia was the | + | As of the publish date of this comic, all of the college basketball teams mentioned (except the University of Virginia) were ranked in the top 25 of the {{w|AP Poll|Associated Press poll}}. The University of Virginia was the winner of the 2019 college basketball tournament, so that may have been why they were mentioned. |
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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|{{w|University of Virginia}} | |{{w|University of Virginia}} | ||
|Unranked | |Unranked | ||
− | |A public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia has appeared in 23 tournaments (most recently in 2019), and won | + | |A public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia has appeared in 23 tournaments (most recently in 2019), and has won 1 national championship, in 2019. |
|} | |} | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | :[A circular phylogenetic tree is shown, with various parts of the tree colored red, green, blue, and black. | + | :[A circular phylogenetic tree is shown, with various parts of the tree colored red, green, blue, and black.] |
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:[Caption below the panel:] | :[Caption below the panel:] |