Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

mfmiranda's picture

Week 3

I keep thinking about the choices we make when classifying, and also the choices we make after we've set up a system. In Lab, Professor Grobstein mentioned that in some ways our classification system was better than the one on the Tree of Life. It made me wonder about how we determine which system is "better" I guess maybe the word I'm looking for isn't "better" but actually "appropriate" Classifying then becomes not only about how we're breaking things down, but also about how we're using everything once it's settled into categories. In some ways, we don't only have to decide how to classify things, but also when classification works and when it doesn't. I like the idea that we are not just choosing just one system overall, but instead one system at a time. That way, we choose a system each time our needs change.Still, I'm left wondering if that makes any sense at all.

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
1 + 16 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.