Top : Science : Systems Science : Systems Theory : Theory of Classification
| Relates to Perceptions in DSRP ? |
| Colour Classifications |
The methods and results of classification depend on the goals of the classification.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1280419-as-the-sun-and-each-atom-of-ether-is-a
“As the sun and each atom of ether is a sphere complete in itself, and yet at the same time only a part of a whole too immense for man to comprehend, so each individual has within himself his own aims and yet has them to serve a general purpose incomprehensible to man.
A bee settling on a flower has stung a child. And the child is afraid of bees and declares that bees exist to sting people. A poet admires the bee sucking from the chalice of a flower and says it exists to suck the fragrance of flowers. A beekeeper, seeing the bee collect pollen from flowers and carry it to the hive, says that it exists to gather honey. Another beekeeper who has studied the life of the hive more closely says that the bee gathers pollen dust to feed the young bees and rear a queen, and that it exists to perpetuate its race. A botanist notices that the bee flying with the pollen of a male flower to a pistil fertilizes the latter, and sees in this the purpose of the bee's existence. Another, observing the migration of plants, notices that the bee helps in this work, and may say that in this lies the purpose of the bee. But the ultimate purpose of the bee is not exhausted by the first, the second, or any of the processes the human mind can discern. The higher the human intellect rises in the discovery of these purposes, the more obvious it becomes, that the ultimate purpose is beyond our comprehension.
All that is accessible to man is the relation of the life of the bee to other manifestations of life. And so it is with the purpose of historic characters and nations.”
M Ichael Josefowicz Dmitry Sokolov A great entry to the question of intent. I like that it gets away from the specific word to communicate the same idea. It's particularly relevant to conversations about Pattern Language. There are two equally legitimate ways to make classifications. One is if you are trying to describe what is. Another is if you are trying to describe what is the world becoming and where are the leverage points that augment it's movement in a desired reaction.