1) A numerical value human beings place on a thing to draw it into the human sphere; a way for human beings to see a thing on their terms.
2) A way label all things and dismiss all that people don’t know about them as irrelevant; a practice of reductionism.
3) A way to conceal what we don’t know about a thing and its role in an ecosystem, its mechanics and it history; a way to push away our anxiety about our lack of knowledge about a thing.
4) A way for people to feel important and confident in their mastery over the planet and in their place in the universe.
5) A way to subordinate all things on the planet and see them only in terms of their short term utility to a human being.