I agree that taxonomies are useful, and this article provides a nice description with examples. But developers of taxonomies need to be clear about what they are doing, because there is never a single best taxonomy for any given domain. In the example in the article, for example, toys are divided between 'educational' and 'plush'. We need to ask: is a plush toy never educational? Is 'educational' an appropriate classification for toys at all (and how would we respond to someone who says all toys are educational)? To create a taxonomy is to impose a point of view on the world. Sometimes this is useful, even necessary. Sometimes it is misleading and even dangerous.
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