Now I have spoken on several occasions about the cyclical pattern of mess and order that is critical to human sense-making. I normally illustrate it with a story about the state of said study. When I am traveling or just generally busy the study tends to accumulate piles of books, papers and journals. Various bags, cables and the other bric-a-bac of travel accumulate on any spare surface. If I am at home for any sustained period of time then the mess gets to me and I engage in a flurry of cleaning, tidying and ordering until the place is pristine again. The new order lasts for a brief period before disintegration sets in again and the whole cycle repeats.
Not this pattern of mess and coherence is a part of life. Structures and taxonomies become out of date and if not changed then knowledge ossifies. Taxidermy and Taxonomy not only sound the same, they often mean the same. At its most ordered and its most disordered the study is probably little use. One is venerated (I don;t like to touch anything), the other has reached a state of randomness. In between it is in a state of messy coherence. I can find things, but often find things I didn’t know I needed to see. Serendipity and neatness are contra-indicated.
” Cognitive Edge: My study, a picture and a hobby refound