ontolog-forum
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [ontolog-forum] Ontologist Aptitude Test?

To: "[ontolog-forum] " <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: David Eddy <deddy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:34:02 -0500
Message-id: <7D7F18DA-293B-4EC8-A657-E6E4FBCAFEAA@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Joel -    (01)

On Dec 18, 2009, at 5:43 PM, Joel Bender wrote:    (02)

> How do *you* measure success?    (03)


For this (mythical?) ontology beast:
- it exists  in some form so accessible/useful that people who know  
(and probably care) nothing about ontologies will find it & use it  
with minimal training... some motivated users going so far as to  
helping to correct & extend it
- the ontology(s) become self sustaining    (04)


I harp on the evolution of the automobile.  In its early days, aside  
from being rich to afford such an exotic toy, you had to know (or  
hire someone who knew) a tremendous amount about the cranky (pun)  
beast.  120 years later the automobile is effectively a "sealed- 
unit."  You need to know virtually nothing about it to use it.  The  
amount of basic engineering/fix-it knowledge I had to acquire to keep  
my 1953 Chevy running was extensive.  My 18 year-old son (who wants  
to be a mechanical engineer & has built his own computer) barely  
knows what a spark plug is & I seriously doubt if he's ever seen one.    (05)

What was once exotic, becomes common-place.    (06)



Also... we've been doing software (creating 1,000s of languages in  
the process) for about 50 years & still have no widely accepted means  
of measuring it.  Few alleged software "engineers" have heard of,  
much less use, Function Points.  The "accepted standard" of lines-of- 
code is accepted without blushing... very much along the lines of "If  
you believed that last whopper, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for  
you..."    (07)

___________________
David Eddy
deddy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx    (08)

781-455-0949    (09)


_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/  
Config Subscr: 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 join: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid1J
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    (010)

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>