[ Dewey Decimal System ]

The Dewey Decimal System (DDS) is still in use in thousands of libraries around the world.  It’s an efficient and consistent way to categorise and store information, by grouping books (knowledge) into standard, expandable categories.

Before the DDS was created in 1876, libraries sorted books in the sequence that they were acquired.  That made it difficult to find books later when you’re looking for something specific.

Our email inboxes tend to be more like the 1860s way of storing information.  The flexibility is a paradox:  because we can sort it any way we want, we don’t sort it at all.