An exploration in arbitrary classification
The Classification Machine
“Animals are divided into: (a) those that belong to the Emperor, (b) embalmed ones, (c) those that are trained, (d) suckling pigs, (e) mermaids, (f) fabulous ones, (g) stray dogs, (h) those that are included in this classification…”
Every category we use to describe the world — normal, citizen, animal, intelligence — looks neutral, yet hides choices about language, institutions, observers, and power. This machine reads any term through eleven different lenses, so you can see the same word fracture into many simultaneous meanings.
Select a word below to begin exploring.
Pick a term to see it classified eleven different ways.