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Taxonomy
The Organizing Problem
Introduction to the history of classification.
Imagine moving into a new house and trying to organize everything you own into just two giant boxes. It would be nearly impossible! Yet, since the dawn of civilization, humans have instinctively tried to sort the massive variety of the living world.
Early classification was based on basic human needs like food, shelter, and clothing. Aristotle made the earliest attempt at a more scientific basis for classification. He used simple physical traits, grouping plants into trees, shrubs, and herbs, and dividing animals into two groups: those with red blood and those without.
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