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Re: [ontolog-forum] [Obo-relations] Heterarchy & Hierarchy, oh my my

To: "[ontolog-forum]" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "John F. Sowa" <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 23:06:10 -0400
Message-id: <481E79A2.5010604@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Bill,    (01)

That can also be restated as the refrigerator principle:    (02)

 > Everyone ought to agree on a principle of least commitment.    (03)

Restatement:  "When in doubt, throw it out."    (04)

 > To distinguish, say, between universal and particular, has
 > paid dividends in actual applications I've worked on
 > where these were conflated.    (05)

The useful distinction can be stated in other terms, such
as types and instances.  Or even predicates and instances.    (06)

My complaint about the terms 'universal' and 'particular'
can be seen in the enormous amount of ink that has been
spilled over the past few millennia on those terms.    (07)

I'll agree that some of that discussion has made useful
points, but any pair of terms that requires so much
discussion to explain is not a pair that is pedagogically
useful to perpetuate.    (08)

My recommendation is to apply the refrigerator principle
to those two terms.    (09)

John    (010)


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