On Becoming Data Squirrels

David Weinberger, in his book, Everything is Miscellaneous, argues that the advent of technology has added a third “order of order”—digital organization—that humanity doesn’t yet take full advantage of. In the prologue he describes the first order of order: organizing objects and atoms in physical space. He describes the challenges the designers of store layouts face because of the limitations of physical space. Throughout the first six chapters he contrasts the second order of order—organizing by way of categorizing on paper—with the digital third order. Weinberger also describe the nature of knowledge: he likens knowledge to geography and mapping; in chapter four he compares knowledge to trees and nesting; in chapter five he uses the “law of the jungle” idea to portray a new informationlandscape. Finally, in chapter six, Weinberger explains how we can use “smart leaves” (information, objects, etc. that are self-descriptive, self-sorting, etc.) to not be overwhelmed by miscellany.

I appreciated Weinberger’s candid and accessible tone (I got a kick out of his asides: “The silverware basket is too damn miscellaneous” on pg. 84 or “Yes, it’s the world’s worst title” on pg. 80). His perspective about knowledge and order are very unique and refreshing. I also appreciate how he brings very specific examples to anchor his very abstract ideas. He doesn’t just talk about the weaknesses of the second order of order, he recounts, in detail, the history of Melvil Dewey and his system of categorizing.
The part that I found most interesting in these chapters was when he was talking about the periodic table of elements. When he was describing how the Periodic Table of Elements works, I kept waiting for him to contrast it to a more effective digital version. He comes to the conclusion, though, that the periodic table of elements contains intrinsically valuable information in its own layout. He seemed to find it as an exception to the inevitable and fitting drift towards miscellany. In fact, he says, “If anything should survive untouched by the third order of order and the rise of the miscellaneous, it ought to be the periodic table of the elements” (40). I don’t think Weinberger need to change his title to Everything is Miscellaneous (Except the Periodic Table of Elements), but I’m curious if the periodic table of elements is the only method of organizing information on paper (whether in existence, or only potential) that should “survive untouched.” I think he’s done a good enough job covering mankind’s problematic attempts to systematize knowledge that I don’t think all (or even very much) of knowledge could be contained effectively on paper. I would be interested to see him speculate how much knowledge can “[lay] bare some real joints of nature” (40).

I thought of this picture when I was reading about the difficulty of categorizing everything. I was spraying Musk Thistle this summer when I came across this extremely rare, white-flowering Musk Thistle. Is it still a Musk Thistle?

Here is an interesting visualization of information that includes another factor: time. This information is influenced by how much time has passed since you opened the page.

Richard Samuelson