Division and Classification

mental processes that often work together.

-when you divide, you separate something (a college, a city) into sections (departments, neighborhoods). -when you divide, you move downward from a concept to the subunits of that concept

-when you classify, you place examples of something (restaurants, jobs) into categories or classes (restaurants: moderately expensive, very expensive; jobs: unskilled, semiskilled, and skilled). -when you classify, you move upward from specific examples to classes or categories that share a common characteristics

-you could divide a television news program into subunits such as news, features, editorials, sports, and weather -and you could classify some elements of that program- such as the editorial commentator on the six o' clock news- according to his or her style, knowledge, and trustworthiness

usually use division and classification together -first you could identify the the subunits in a college sports program - football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, tennis; then you could classify them according to their budgets - most money budgeted for football, the least budgeted for volleyball

-chief purpose is to EXPLAIN -you might want to explain an established method for organization information -such as the Library of Congress system -on one level, your purpose in such an essay is simply to show how the system works, at a deeper level, you purpose is to define, analyze, and justify the organizing principle that underlies the system

-also can write to entertain (opportunity to be clever and witty) or persuade (have a chance to be cogent and forceful)

you might concoct an elaborate scheme for classifying fools, pointing out the distinguishing features of each category and giving particularly striking examples of each type.

you could explain how some new or controversial plan, such as the metric system, is organized, pointing out how the schemes use new principles to identify and organize information, although you are giving your readers a great deal of info, the main purpose is to persuade them that the new plan is better than the old one.

-think carefully about 1. what your readers already know and 2. what they need to get from your writing

, then your readers need precise definitions and plenty of illustrations for each subcategory

then you dont need to give them an extensive demonstration, youd want to sketch the system briefly to refresh your readers' memories but then move on, using examples of specific movies to analyze whether the system really works

-how might your readers use the classification system that you explain in your essay -if youre classifying rock musicians readers will probs regard the system you explain as self-enclosed- interesting and amusing but not something they are likely to use in everyday lives -if youre classifying digital video equipment, your readers may want to use your system when they shop

you can use an informal approach to classification, dividing your subject into interesting subcategories and illustrating them with vivid examples

then you need to be careful and strict in your approach, making sure you divide your topic into all its possible classes and illustrating each class with concrete examples

1. DIVIDE YOUR SUBJECT into major categories that exhibit a common trait, then divide those categories into smaller units 2. ARRANGE YOUR CATEGORIES into a sequence that shows a logical or dramatic progression 3/ DEFINE EACH OF YOUR CATEGORIES... first show how each category is different from the others; then discuss its most vivid examples

(do you want to explain an exisisting system of classification or create your own system) 1. apply the same principle of selection to each class 2. make sure your division is complete (by establishing separate and consistent types of categories) 3. arrange your categories and examples (you use to illustrate each category) in an emphatic (or logical) order 4. you need to show the significance of your system of classification (dont divide and classify the trivial things... explain why significant)-call your readers attention to it significancce

maybe hard to do if the system youre trying to explain created by someone else is actually inconsistent for ex, record stores use overlapping and inconsistent categories ... CDS by Shania Twain could be found in country, pop or female vocal -you can avoid such tangles if you create and control your own classification system ie. russell baker classifies inanimate objects

-simplest kind of division is two categories: A and not-A (conformists and nonconformists) ... but bad cuz you can tell alot about A but not about not - A -should try to exhaust your subject by finding at least three separate categories and by acknowleding any examples that dont fit the system

-classifying eaters by how they eat off other people's plate - purpose: to entertain -audience: strategies: 1. uses own system 2. consistent -the finisher, the waif and the researcher and the simple thief -uses quotes -finisher- "if youre not planning to finish these..." -The Waif- doesnt order much but then "thta looks delicious" (doesnt care if you say its not that good)- -the researcher- "im curious how they do these fried onions?" the simple thief- waits for companion to look away or distracts them "is it my imagination or could that be michael jackoson and lisa marie presley at the table over by the door?" -less formal classification but does try to set up reasonably complete system

-baker employs his wry humor to classify inanimaate objects into three categories -divides by objects method to resist humans 3. those that dont work- most curious of all - barometers, car clocks, cigarette lighters, flashlights and toy train locomotives- work once and then never work again--things that get lost never break down and things that break down never get lost - highest state possible for object- what lost or break down objects aspire to be -truly defeated man and conditioning him to never expect anything from them, and in reutrn they give men only peace they recieve from inanimate objects - no expectation so - no blood pressure raised - cannot attain this peace with other two categories as long as he demands they work for their keep 1. those that break down (automobile- breaks down when it is most needed... automobile never breaks down entering a filling station with a large staff of idle mechanics... waits till it reaches down town intersection in middle of rush hour, or fully loaded on ohio turnpike with luggage and family) 2. those that get lost - these objects cant break down so they have to find diff way to resist man - so they get lost - pliers- climb from cellar to attic, gloves, keys burrow themselves under 3 feet of matress, purses travel 6 or 7 rooms to find hiding place under couch- secret method of locomotion

-distinguishes four kinds of chance by the way " humans react creatively with one another and with their environment" -four varieties of chance if considered that they each involve a different kind of motor activity and a special kind of sensory receptivity and distinctive personality traits and differ in the way one paticular individual influences them -Chance I is the pure blind luck that comes with no effort on your part - ex. sitting at bridge table of 4, it is "in the cards" for you to recieve a hand of all 13 spades... happens 1/6.3 trillion deals. draw this with luck and no intervention but takes a long time Chance II: not passive but springs from an energetic, motor activity - basal level action stirs up the pot and brings in random ideas that will collide and stick together in fresh combos, lets chance operate -Kettering principle - evokes the luck King Kettering says that keep on going and chances are you will stumble upon somethin maybe when you least expect it... nothing will happen if you sit -past two chances unique role of the individual was minimal or lacking Chance III: invloves a special receptivity and discernment unique to the recipient - person equipped to observe, vizualize the chance conceptually and grasp its significance - Louis Pasteur "chance favors only the prepared mind" ex. Alexander Flemings mind instantly fused at least 5 elements into conceptuaally unified nexus - took mold falling in experiment -chance- and figures out it could be used to kill staphlococci that caused human infections... mind very receptive - first 3 all evoke the work serendipity - I: result of accident 2. genreal explanatory behaviour III: sagacity - chance IIII: chance favors the individualized action - takes on distinctive individual flavor - elusive, mirage-like -spanish cave of altamira - Sautuola an archaeologist "discovered" the sistine chapel of prehistory - art on the ceiling... altho dog discovered cave and daughter had initial receptivity . disovery hinged on a long seuqnece of prior events orginating in de sautuola himself -requires personality (his passion) and actions (allowing daughter to come) -altamirage - the facility for ecountering unexpected good lucks as a result of highly individualized action -