A new method for diversity measurement: Taking similarity between cells seriously

Abstract

One way of measuring interdisciplinarity is using the diversity of fields used in references. It is usually stated that diversity has three components: variety, balance or evenness and disparity or its opposite: similarity. In this contribution we focus on the role of balance or evenness in the determination of diversity and reflect on the “monotonicity of balance” requirement.We conclude that one should take similarity (or disparity) between cells seriously and consider it to be at least as important as variety. Balance plays a minor role.