The Tiers of Categorization

Food Chain

All animals and living organisms are classified within a specific tier of the food chain. These classifications have been established and molded for centuries, and help to define the general flow of survival. In this week’s reading titled Sorting Things Out, the two concepts of classification and standards are broken down into concrete definitions. In my opinion, standards serve as the foundation that allows various forms of classification to occur. Without a specific set of standards or guidelines to associate with animals or objects, classification is essentially meaningless. The article states, “a standard spans more than one community of practice… it has temporal reach as well in that it persists over time”. The scope of the standards linked to the food chain has been transformed over the years and altered to allow new classifications to be possible as groundbreaking discoveries continue to be made regarding new species. All communities have accepted the set of standards that are tied to the multitude of unique food chains.

 

The food chain has become an accepted way of ranking superiority in our world. While the sun is often seen as the main cog that turns this wheel of life, different forms of food chains can be broken down and applied to more focused groups. This version of classification within certain pre-conceived categories helps to further specify and define the different levels of consumers and producers in our ecosystems. Without the ability to use intricate categorization, ensuring all aspects of all species involved within a food chain are hashed out, it is hard to tell where the public’s level of general knowledge towards other species and organisms would be. It is true that different communities may view the categorization of some species in separate ways, but as Sorting Things Out mentions, in practicing classification and the implementation of standards, objects must be “able to both travel across borders and maintain some sort of constant identity”. The overarching layout of the general food chain and its sub categories has become embedded in today’s society. The standards that have been developed over the years will continue to change with unpredictable discoveries and worldview changes. Certain classifications may seem to be set in stone and unarguable, but there is always potential that the standards could be slightly altered with time. Categorization under the boundaries set in place by certain standards is absolutely necessary to compartmentalize society and analyze its specificities, but the way people think and process information will never stop changing and will always have a direct affect on the categorization process.

 

Sources:

Selections from Bowker and Star, Sorting Things Out (Cambridge, Ma:
MIT, 1999).

 

http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/Trophiclevels.jpg

 

“Network thinking in ecology and evolution”. http://eeb19.biosci.arizona.edu/Faculty/Dornhaus/courses/materials/papers/Proulx%20Promislow%20Phillips%20networks%20ecol%20evol.pdf