  A practical method was proposed recently for finding local bifurcation points
in an n-dimensional vector field F by seeking their 'underlying catastrophes'.
Here we apply the idea to the homogeneous steady states of a partial
differential equation as an example of the role that catastrophes can play in
reaction diffusion. What are these 'underlying' catastrophes? We then show they
essentially define a restricted class of 'solvable' rather than 'all
classifiable' singularities, by identifying degenerate zeros of a vector field
F without taking into account its vectorial character. As a result they are
defined by a minimal set of r analytic conditions that provide a practical
means to solve for them, and a huge reduction from the calculations needed to
classify a singularity, which we will also enumerate here. In this way,
underlying catastrophes seem to allow us apply Thom's elementary catastrophes
in much broader contexts.
