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At any point in time, any discipline in science tends to be seized by a particular methodology or enthusiasm and other approaches get 'dumped'. So it is in ecology -- although, because of obstinate individualism, nothing is ever completely forgotten. We are currently in a reductionist, population-dominated era. Twenty-five years ago, our interests lay primarily in comparisons of species. In between, the holistic approach has had a good run with studies of ecosystems everywhere. This introductory paper reflects on this history and particularly, because of the occasion, examines the value of the process of comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]