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Arbitrary

Arbitrary

1. Depending on will or discretion; not governed by any fixed rules; as, an arbitrary decision; an arbitrary punishment. It was wholly arbitrary in them to do so. (Jer. Taylor) Rank pretends to fix the value of every one, and is the most arbitrary of all things. (Landor)

2. Exercised according to one's own will or caprice, and therefore conveying a notion of a tendency to abuse the possession of power. Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused licentiousness. (Washington)

3. Despotic; absolute in power; bound by no law; harsh and unforbearing; tyrannical; as, an arbitrary prince or government.

(Science: mathematics) (Dryden) arbitrary constant, arbitrary function, one to which any value can be assigned at pleasure.

Origin: L. Arbitrarius, fr. Arbiter: cf. F. Arbitraire. See Arbiter.


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... in intelligent life that evolution moves toward. Hence, we should not feel an emptiness over the idea that the features of our existence are ARBITRARY, SUBJECTIVE, or RANDOM. It may just be that random evolutionary processes progress toward a goal. We do not need God or supernaturalism for ...

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by jeremyo
Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:12 am
 
Forum: Evolution
Topic: Pitfalls of Evolutionary Psychology: Exaptation
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Views: 137

Biologists cannot tell us what a species or phylum is

... are (according to evolutionists) the most closely related to a common ancestor. The criteria used for determining “most alike” are subjective and arbitrary. So, evolutionists turned to DNA analysis to see which critters are most closely related. They got absolutely no help there. The view that ...

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by gamila
Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:25 pm
 
Forum: Evolution
Topic: Biologists cannot tell us what a species or phylum is
Replies: 38
Views: 1912

Karyotyping of Plants

The number of chromosomes and their ploidy are somewhat arbitrary and you will probably find it difficult to infer anything from comparing karyotypes. For example cats have 38 chromosomes, Humans 46, Dogs 78, and they are all mammals, trying to infer ...

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by domwood
Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:31 pm
 
Forum: Genetics
Topic: Karyotyping of Plants
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Confusion over terms related to genetics

... having trouble understanding the term “wild-type”. Consider this scenario: If African-Americans have a greater prevalence of nucleotide “A” on an arbitrary position, while the Chinese and the Europeans tend to have the nucleotide “C” instead, how should one consider the meaning of wild-type? I ...

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by Jamus
Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:34 am
 
Forum: Molecular Biology
Topic: Confusion over terms related to genetics
Replies: 2
Views: 351

Statistical Analysis for Two Birds Counting Methods

... to fulfill for all my samples. All that kind of tests compare means so i have to use proportions or densities but make a lot of data standarized (arbitrary). For example i have read some papers that compare point counts and mist nets using an analizing unit like species counts per 4 point counts ...

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by evelingtavera17
Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:20 pm
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: Statistical Analysis for Two Birds Counting Methods
Replies: 1
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