"The bits and pieces of life are so numerous that we need to order and classify them before we can think of them. Our sort of brain cannot handle the world in the raw. We have to arrange all the bits into piles, and if there are too many piles we arrange those into clusters. Without ordering systems, which is what taxonomies are, we can't think, live, or work with our world."
A defining characteristic of human society is its tribalism: its tendency to gather in groups which define themselves by certain common characteristics, and differentiate themselves—set themselves apart from and at odds—with other groups and individuals who do not share these characteristics... The fact is that people identify with the group of which they are a part, and are suspicious or fearful of those who belong to other groups. This tribalism is true in countless dimensions, from income to accent to national origin to sexual activity to race to musical taste...
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