The Ask.com web site has an article on the science of stamp collecting – Enjoyment of Stamp Collecting Has Scientific Foundation by John Finch which also discusses specialty groups.
“Stamp Collecting is More Than a Child’s Pastime.” While the quote is a cute one, it is not as accurate as it may have been in that earlier day. Today stamp collecting — and it’s more seriously considered version, philately — are in some aspects akin to a scientific pursuit. And we have come a long way from the simple stamp and album mode of collecting, including physical study of a stamp using new technology and areas of postal history, including the study of routes and postal rates to find what sort of job our classic era stamps did when on cover.
Digital Philately 
Reblogged this on Stamp Collecting News – StampCollecting.co and commented:
The Ask.com web site has an article on the science of stamp collecting – Enjoyment of Stamp Collecting Has Scientific Foundation by John Finch which also discusses specialty groups.
Interesting article!