You know my fascination with unique applications of taxonomies. What you don’t know is how much of a sci-fi fan my husband is. So if I failed to report on this little gem, well, I might have to sleep on your couch for a while. As the third story in a multi-part series on taxonomy and speciation, this look at the infamous tricorder and how it relates to taxonomies is an interesting read.
This exciting and, oh, so interesting information was found on Boing Boing in their article, “The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek.” On Star Trek: The Original Series, the tricorder is a clunky, black device that in today’s techno-centric world would look like a toy and not even a cool one. What made the tricorder a great piece of fictional technology was its performance.
A portable tool that could quickly identify any species anywhere was captivating, but it isn’t much different from what a solid taxonomy can do today. A strong standards-based taxonomy is one with true integrity. Access Innovations is one of a very small number of companies able to help its clients generate ANSI/ISO/W3C-compliant taxonomies.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.
