The other taxonomists

The Globe and Mail has reported on a decline in taxonomists - the kind that classify flora and fauna.

The Case of the vanishing taxonomists by Matthew Hart, Globe and Mail, Sept 4, 2010

Why are there fewer traditional taxonomists who can examine the physical traits in a specimen, classify it and name it? Partly, it's a change to molecular taxonomy.

"Younger scientists are drawn to molecular taxonomy, where powerful new techniques in the study of DNA have revealed interspecies connections never before suspected.

Such advances, including the Canadian-pioneered use of DNA barcodes to identify species, while undeniably useful, are “not a replacement for the [traditional] taxonomist,” says Gary Saunders, who holds a chair in Molecular Systematics and Biodiversity at the University of New Brunswick.

“At times, the DNA-generated answer is wrong,” Prof. Saunders says. “A trained taxonomist can look at a molecular result and know that there is cause to question the outcome.” "

Does this seem similar to the view that content in enterprises does not need to be classified - it can simply be analyzed at the word (molecular) level to be found and used?

Taxonomists in Information Management aren't looking for new species, but they should be looking for new views and new topics that relate to the business and make sense of it.