thurtle

Both the science of genetics and the practice of breeding plants or animals required extensive record keeping, explains Thurtle (comparative history of ideas, U. of Washington), and says that the modern science was born when systems were developed to manage and make sense of the massive information gathered, such as vertical files, standardized forms, and middle managers. He argues that the introduction of such information processing forms, along with the cultural incentives for implementing them, sparked new ways of exploring how living forms were related to each other. Annotation 穢2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)