[dlpdev] Borges on categorisation systems

[Saul Albert]

These ambiguities, redundancies and deficiencies remind us of those which
doctor Franz Kuhn attributes to a certain Chinese encyclopaedia entitled
'Celestial Empire of benevolent Knowledge'. In its remote pages it is written
that the animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the emperor, (b) embalmed,
(c) tame, (d) sucking pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h)
included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k)
drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, (l) et cetera, (m) having just broken
the water pitcher, (n) that from a long way off look like flies.

http://www.alamut.com/subj/artiface/language/johnWilkins.html


I'm thinking of adopting this as the classification system for the books at the
Limehouse Town Hall library ;)

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