FC philosopher's stone

Claudio Gnoli <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.infodesign.facetedclassification
Message-ID <[email protected]>
""" [Travis Wilson]
Since we had to revise PMEST when it became unsuitable, 
don't you suppose we'll have to revise the new set of 13 
whenever it's unsuitable? [...]  I don't believe in a 
Grand Unified Theory of physics either :) 
"""

Of course any theory can be criticized and improved;
but this doesn't mean it's useless or completely wrong.
We don't have a Grand Unified Theory for physics, but 
we do use laser technology... Let me recycle a quotation 
I like from Alexander Justice's PhD thesis:

"The discussion [...] was opened by Mr. Evans (Ministry of Works
Library), who said that if he were a dictator he would put Mr. Wells
in a concentration camp, together with the body recommended by Mr.
Wells, until they emerged with the classification complete. Pigeon-
holes were of more practical value to the working librarian than the
most logical classification and the most important thing of all for
co-operation was that all librarians should use the same pigeon-
holes. This inventing of classifications was a jolly intellectual
game, better than acrostics or crossword puzzles. [...] Like the
search for the Philosopher's Stone, something useful might be found
on the way. [...] Mr. J. Farradane* (Tate & Lyle, Ltd.) said that the
Philosopher's Stone had been sought in order to produce the
transmutation of the elements but that had now been achieved! So
ultimately would the correct theory of classification be found..."

[How to choose a special classification for your special library /
A. J. Wells. In: ASLIB proceedings, 3 (1951), p. 107-122.]

* A member of the CRG.



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