Three-taxon analysis can always successfully recognize groups based on putative reversals

Three-taxon analysis in it canonical form can always successfully recognize groups based on putative reversals if latter are coded as separate states before three-taxon permutations are derived from conventional matrices. This way of coding removes incongruence from either conventional multistate or three-taxon matrices and makes the discussions about symplesiomorphy as a putative homology unnecessary. The ability of conventional parsimony to recognize reversal-based clades is technically nothing more than grouping by plesiomorphic values. Therefore this solution cannot be accepted as a Cladistic approach to data and must be correctly classified as “post-Hennigian” or “phenetic”. The ability of three-taxon analysis to recognize groups based on the putative reversals may be viewed as a heuristic cladistics attempts to prevent this “phenetic” approach affecting the analysis of the data.