Ed Barkmeyer wrote: (01)
> Every tree (structure) is a partial ordering, but not every partial
> ordering is a tree. What John meant is that in his model, the partial
> orderings are not restricted to tree structures -- they can be
> generalized lattices with multiple roots. (02)
To be clearer, a "lattice" is directed graph in which a (child) node can
have more than one incoming (parent) arc. A "generalized lattice" just
removes the idea that there is a single "root" node. (03)
In linguistic terms, the idea is that "synonym" means "term with closely
related meaning", not "term with identical meaning". As a consequence,
"synonym of" is not necessarily a transitive relationship. It is
possible for a single term to "refine" or "closely relate to" two or
more other terms that are not themselves (considered) synonyms. Roget's
symnets include many things I think of as dubious "synonyms", but one
cannot deny that there is some significant overlap of meaning. (04)
(The telephone game does not really require some intermediary to choose
the wrong interpretation of a term; it simply requires the "synonymous"
rewordings to drift gradually away from the original intent.) (05)
-Ed (06)
--
Edward J. Barkmeyer Email: edbark@xxxxxxxx
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Manufacturing Systems Integration Division
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8263 Tel: +1 301-975-3528
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8263 FAX: +1 301-975-4694 (07)
"The opinions expressed above do not reflect consensus of NIST,
and have not been reviewed by any Government authority." (08)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Subscribe/Config: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (09)
|