Taking a Break

I guess one thing I've realized about classification systems is that they can be of two basic types: philosophical and practical. It's not that they are mutually exclusive--philosophy can have an effect on practice, and practice can reflect philosophy--but they represent different emphases and purposes. What I call a philosophical classification is the kind I have been striving for--an attempt to chart the grand structure of reality, with practical application in an actual library being of secondary importance. The other type of system, the practical kind, is what most library classification systems are, I think (librarians being, on the whole, a supremely practical lot). It exists for the primary purpose of putting the books in order on the shelves so that they may be found as easily and quickly as possible, with the aid, of course, of a library catalog. Perhaps because I am of a more philosophical bent (I majored in a field of the humanities, after all, which isn't very practical), I am more intrigued by the philosophical sort of classification. And that's why Mr. Phillips' scheme appealed to me at first, with its aim of "perfection". But after spending weeks obsessively thinking about it and working on it only to run into seemingly insurmountable difficulties, I have to admit I'm a little burned out on the whole thing. Lib Con 08 (the library conference) is only two weeks away and I've lost all enthusiasm for the GPS. I'm thinking that maybe library classifications should just be practical after all, that there is no such thing as a perfect classification system, and that when you're creating a system to classify things, the nature of the system will depend on the nature of whatever it is you're classifying, as well as on your own practical needs. Or perhaps on your own aesthetic preferences. Which is what Mr. Phillips is doing, I suppose, in attempting to create a work of art. But that's his work of art. Sure, I'm just the lowly apprentice, like an apprentice painter, but somehow I'm not content in this role. Am I too sure of myself, thinking that I no longer need a master to teach me, eager to strike out on my own? No, I don't think that's it, because I don't feel sure of myself at all. If anything, I feel disoriented, disillusioned, completely unsure how to approach the problem or even if there is any point to approaching it. I feel that I've come face to face with the limits of human knowledge, and it's enough to make me wonder why we seek knowledge.

You can tell by my posts this week that I've been more interested in the "literature" of Ivan Large than in Mr. Phillips' (or my own) classification project. I guess my mind needed a break. And there's nothing better for sending your brain on vacation than reading a little Harmless Banter.