The guests all sit around the table, musing to themselves, after a delicious appetizer consisting of Swedish meatballs, spiced olives, Canadian cheddar, and pigs in blankets. The appetizer was followed by “Humble Pie,” a take on a traditional French Canadian tortière, but made with ground lamb, beef, and chicken, spiced perfectly and with a delicate, flaky (not overcooked!) crust. The pie is served with seasonal vegetables and roasted potatoes. The hostess is hopeful that each of her guests will find something specifically to their liking that will make them feel at home, as well as try something that may be new to them. So far, the table talk has centered on families, friends and the different cultures and activities of each of the guests. …show more content…
Taking a sip of port, David Weinberger looks around the dining table at his fellow guests, including Melvil Dewey, Carl Linnaeus, and Aristotle and breaks the comfortable silence by saying, “You know, I can see that imposing classification on the world had its uses at one time, but times have changed, and I’m starting to think that it’s going the way of the dodo.” The other guests visibly perk up, some physically sitting straighter in their seats, raising their eyebrows at Weinberger. The other four guests, along with the host, begin to debate with Weinberger on the value of classification systems in today’s society. In the hostess’ view, there is no intention to do away with the notion of the classification of objects, but rather, develop a new strategy for classification. Just as the world is ever changing, so should systems of