Hoffman and Deffenbacher (1993) presented a multidimensional scheme for analyzing the relations of basic and applied science, reliant on concepts from ecological psychology. In his commentary, Vicente (1994) argued, among other things, that the scheme can profitably be simplified. Although we are sympathetic to Vicente's viewpoint and some of his goals, differences between Vicente's prescriptive purposes (the transformation of traditional human factors psychology) and the descriptive purposes of Hoffman and Deffenbacher (the empirical analysis of sciences in general) suggest that different subsets of dimensions may be useful in the analyses of different fields of science. In addition, if one desires to be prescriptive, one can perhaps successfully focus on particular dimensions.