1735: First edition of Carl Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae printed in the Netherlands [109]

Art Piece: Stamp Seal in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull: Two Dogs?, Mesopotamian, c. 3100-2900 BCE [119]

Paper: The integrative future of taxonomy [137]

Carl Linnaeus is often regarded as the “father of modern taxonomy, and for good reason: he created [23] the hierarchical system of taxonomy that we still use today. Although in more recent years and decades we have had to add ranks such as families, Linnaeus’ system is still exceptionally relevant to science today. Linnaeus’ text was edited multiple times throughout his life to reflect his evolving [108] ideas. Systema Naturae represented a significant paradigm shift — for so long prior, people had been attempting to classify nature but had been essentially rehashing variations upon a theme. Notably, from Aristotle’s Scala Naturae [138] to John Ray’s botanical classifications to Alexander Pope’s ideas about where humans fall in the context of other organisms and hierarchy, previous thought surrounding classification seemed to figure out where humans fit specifically, and most of the time, humans were at or near the top. Linnaeus’ work, however, is not solely focused on human beings for the initial classification system itself (although in later editions of the book, Linnaeus did extensively attempt to classify humans based on race and temperament [108]. In other words, Linneaus offered more than just where humans fit — rather, his classification system was able to be used for more general purposes, and is even used today. This is a huge paradigm shift, especially considering the enduring utility of Linneaus’ classification system. The artwork above [119], a stamp seal specifically, greatly exemplifies Linneaus’ work and classification system. Even the title of the piece, “Stamp Seal in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull: Two Dogs?” is not entirely sure what the piece is — is it a bull or two dogs? The beauty and utility of Linneaus’ classification system (combined with the wonders of today’s science and genetics tools) can perhaps allow us to elucidate the true nature of this seal artwork creature. We would be able to classify this animal based on its species, genus, order, and other classification markers. Thus is the enduring legacy of Linneaus: his classification system which persists even today, one which will no doubt be expanded and improved as we only continue to learn more about the wonderful world around us and all that it contains. The scientific paper above [137] also does a fantastic job of adding a future context to the classification system developed by Linneaus: the paper explores an integrative future of taxonomy, one which could be equipped with even more utility to allow us to classify organisms more effectively and more accurately. Moreover, with genetic tools only getting better and better, there is no doubt that taxonomy could be even better, far beyond what even Linneaus himself could have imagined.