Talk:Horse colors

From Citizendium
Revision as of 11:05, 18 July 2010 by imported>Howard C. Berkowitz (→‎A little whimsy (not whinny): new section)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is developing and not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
To learn how to update the categories for this article, see here. To update categories, edit the metadata template.
 Definition Coat colors and distinctive markings on horses caused by melanin appearing in two forms, eumelanin (black) and phaeomelanin (orange-red), and variations of those two. [d] [e]
Checklist and Archives
 Workgroup category Biology [Categories OK]
 Talk Archive none  English language variant British English

This article will cover the colors of horses and the genes that determine horse coloration. The article will be a useful adjunct to citizendium articles involving horse breeds, genetics, and breeding.Nancy Sculerati MD 18:13, 13 January 2007 (CST)

Image

Nancy, do you need all horses pictures? --Versuri 18:21, 23 January 2007 (CST)

Yes, thank you very much!Nancy Sculerati MD 18:22, 23 January 2007 (CST)

As all images are from Wiki-Commons, I am not sure about the licenses. See this. --Versuri 04:34, 25 January 2007 (CST)

If we shouldn't use it, we can't. Too bad.Nancy Sculerati MD 04:36, 25 January 2007 (CST)

Then I think it's better to delete this Image:Young lipizzaner.jpg. --Versuri 06:33, 25 January 2007 (CST)

I'd suggest we cant take anon picture sources. Gosh this topic is appealling with these photos. I resized one David Tribe 15:37, 26 January 2007 (CST)

The ones I'm uploading are mine, and I will assign myself the onerous job of going around and taking pictures of as many colors of horses that I can. We are checking copyrights as best we can. Give me some time and I'll replace the ones from Wikipedia. I'd love to use the mustang one though- I can't figure out it's copyright. Is it ok? Nancy Sculerati MD 15:45, 26 January 2007 (CST)

What about this one?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Knabstrupper_Baron.jpg#file I'd really like this one. The file history says it was uploaded to the German Wikipedia by the photorapher that took it. Would someone either uplaod it for me, or tell me why it would not be ok to use it. I have to admit I have to research the genotype behind those spots. Nancy Sculerati MD 16:00, 26 January 2007 (CST)

See the page of the author in German Wikipedia. --Versuri 16:16, 26 January 2007 (CST)

I can't understand it. Can you? I can find some program that translates German, but I'd hate to rely on it.Nancy Sculerati MD 16:37, 26 January 2007 (CST)

I do not understand German, but that user page does not exist anymore. The author is unknown. --Versuri 17:01, 26 January 2007 (CST)

So I geuss that means we can't use it? Nancy Sculerati MD 17:32, 26 January 2007 (CST)

I think we should not. --Versuri 05:31, 27 January 2007 (CST)

A little whimsy (not whinny)

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~lorch/humor/math.html

LEMMA 1. All Horses Are the Same Color (by induction).

Proof: It is obvious that one horse is the same color. Let us assume the proposition P(k) that k horses are the same color and use this to imply that k+1 horses are the same color. Given the set of k+1 horses, we remove one horse; then the remaining k horses are the same color, by hypothesis. We remove another horse and replace the first; the k horses, by hypothesis, are again the same color. We repeat this until by exhaustion the k+1 sets of horses have each been shown to be the same color. It follows then that since every horse is the same color as every other horse, P(k) entails P(k+1). But since we have shown P(1) to be true, P is true for all succeding values of k, that is, all horses are the same color.

THEOREM 1. Every Horse Has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation).

Proof: Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs and in front they have fore legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. Therefore horses have an infinite number of legs. Now to show that this is general, suppose that somewhere there is a horse with a finite number of legs. But that is a horse of a different color, and by the lemma that does not exist.

COROLLARY 1. Everything is the Same Color.

Proof: The proof of lemma 1 does not depend at all on the nature of the object under consideration. The predicate of the anticedent of the universally-quantified conditional ``For all x, if x is a horse, then x is the same color, namely ``is a horse may be generalized to ``is anything without affecting the validity of the proof; hence, ``for all x, if x is anything, x is the same color.

COROLLARY 2. Everything is White.

Proof: If a sentential formula in x is logically true, then any particular substitution instance of it is a true sentence. In particular, then: ``For all x, if x is an elephant, then x is the same color is true. Now it is manifestly axiomatic that white elephants exist (for proof by blatant assertion consult Mark Twain ``The Stolen White Elephant). Therefore all elephants are white. By corollary 1 everything is white.

THEOREM 2. Alexander the Great Did Not Exist and He Had An Infinite Number of Limbs.

Proof: We prove this theorem in two parts. First we note the obvious fact that historians always tell the truth (for historians always take a stand, and therefore they cannot lie). Hence we have the historically true sentence ``If Alexander the Great existed, then he rode a black horse Bucephalus. But we know by corollary 2 that everything is white; hence Alexander could not have ridden a black horse. Since the consequent of the condition is false, in order for the whole statement to be true the antededent must be false. Hence Alexander the great did not exist. We also have the historically true statement that Alexander was warned by an oracle that he would meet death if he crossed a certian river. He had two legs; and ``fore-warned is four-armed. This gives him six limbs, an even number, which is certainly an odd number of limbs for a man. Now the only number which is even and odd is infinity; hence Alexander had an infinite number of limbs. We have thus proved that Alexander the Great did not exist and that he had an infinte number of limbs.

Howard C. Berkowitz 17:05, 18 July 2010 (UTC)