In Chapter 1, I briefly reflect on the logic and development of the bioassessment of freshwater ecosystems, especially recent Western Science approaches. The logic is simple ... what lives in a lake or stream reflects the effects of the human activity it has been exposed to. I provide a synopsis of evolution of bioassessment methods over the last 150 years, beginning with a simple comparison of sites that vary in their exposure to some stressor and culminating in the recent, "golden age" of the BACI (Before-After-Control-Impact) design and its extension in recent decades to the Reference Condition Approach (RCA). I finish by sketching and justifying my "rethink" of the RCA in subsequent chapters.