MORPHOMETRY (Geometric)
Charles François (2004). MORPHOMETRY (Geometric), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 2208.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2208 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
A discipline which quantifies the geometric similarities and dissimilarities among the forms of living beings.
The original idea belongs to W. d'ARCY THOMPSON (1916).
It was based on the study of topologic deformations, through the comparison of a number of homologous points taken on two objects (D. BRUNO & B. LAURIN, 1997).
It is now used in paleontology as a tool to measure the morphologic distance between species which are supposed to belong to a specific evolutive line.
It could however probably be applied to any evolutive series of objects, even man-made artifacts .