Free Association

I do a bit of blogging here and there. One of the more recent, and more interesting, features of WordPress is its capability for defining custom taxonomies. A taxonomy, of course, being a collection of like items called taxa (sing. taxon), arranged in some sensible order.

However, trouble is brewing in paradise…

Taxonomy from Wikipedia:

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word finds its roots in the Greek τάξις, taxis (meaning ‘order’ or ‘arrangement’) and νόμος, nomos (meaning ‘law’ or ‘science’). Taxonomy uses taxonomic units, known as taxa (singular taxon).

So, what?

So, watch for this:

• “taxonomy” will be used synonymously for taxon
• “taxonomies” will be in lieu of taxa as the plural form

What this means is that when someone says “taxonomy” you are going to have to infer its meaning as an element in a collection of like elements collectively referred to as a taxonomy, or as the collection itself.

Frankly, stupid, pedantic words like “taxon” and “taxa” exist for a reason. Using the correct form of such words eliminates confusion.

Unfortunately, this requires people learning what such words actually mean. Which means either 1. reading, or 2. being instructed.

Which flies in the face of how the vast majority learn anything, which is to copy the accepted usage from peers, and not bother with the difficult details of real meaning.

Consequently, within WordPress, “taxonomy” is going to remain a slippery, confusing topic. If you don’t understand taxonomies, rest assured, that’s not entirely your fault.