14 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Ode to Spot
Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature.
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents.
You would not be so agile if you lacked...
1 Lieutenant Commander Data (2338 – 2379)
24 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
A Strange Way to Categorize Stones and Metals
Consider the eighth category, which deals with stones. Wilkins divides them into the following classifications: ordinary (flint, gravel, slate); intermediate (marble, amber, coral); precious (pearl, opal); transparent (amethyst, sapphire); and insoluble (coal, clay, and arsenic). The ninth category is almost as alarming as the eighth. It reveals that metals can be imperfect (vermilion, quicksilver); artificial (bronze, brass); recremental (filings, rust); and natural (gold, tin, copper). The ...Folksonomies: taxonomy categorization
Folksonomies: taxonomy categorization
1 
notes
notesJorge Luis Borges compares the method to an ancient Chinese method of categorizing animals.
03 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
How File Structure Affects Our Perception of the World
The file is a set of philosophical ideas made into eternal flesh. The ideas expressed by the file include the notion that human expression comes in severable chunks that can be organized as leaves on an abstract tree—and that the chunks have versions and need to be matched to compatible applications. 1 notes
notesFiles are compact chunks that can be categorized, have versions, and can be matched to applications. But don't we do this with taxonomy in biology? Species are defined, but they are flowing degrees of characteristics that we semi-artificially categorize.
31 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Aristotle's Attempt to Categorize Motion
11 Now everything that changes place is moved either by itself or by something else. In as many of these as are moved by themselves, it is obvious that the moved and mover are together, since the first mover is present in them, so that nothing is in-between. But as many as are moved by other things must come about in four ways, for there are four kinds of change of place by means of something else: pulling, pushing, carrying, and whirling. For all motions with respect to place lead back to th... 1 notes
notesHis efforts to build a taxonomy of motion demonstrates the difficulty of properly classifying things as a foundation to building hypotheses.
