Saving our science from ourselves: the plight of biological classification.Biological classification ( nomenclature, taxonomy, and systematics) Shorts is being sold short.The desire for new technologies, faster and cheaper taxonomic descriptions, identifications, and revisions is symptomatic of a lack of appreciation and understanding of classification.The problem of gadget-driven science, a lack of best practice and the inability to accept classification as a descriptive and empirical science are discussed.
The worst cases scenario is a future Clipper comb in which classifications are purely artificial and uninformative.