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Article: We still invoke friction and Occam's razor to explain catch in the spines of Eucidaris tribuloides.
- Article from:
- The Biological Bulletin
- Article date:
- April 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Marine Biological Laboratory. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The principle of economy that emerged from the views of William of Occam, namely that where alternative hypotheses exist, the one involving the fewest assumptions is to be preferred, is still valid in science. Indeed, it was the application of "Occam's razor" that led us to propose a new model (1) to explain that mechanism of catch contraction in the primary spines of Eucidaris tribuloides - the model that I. C. Wilkie (2) considers inadequate through its failure to invoke collagen mutability.
In the 1960s, Takahashi (3, 4) took up the study of the articular capsule, or ligament, called by him 'catch apparatus' (CA), that surrounds the primary spine-test articulation ...