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Re: [ontolog-forum] Taxonomies, cuts, and the decimal system

To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: John F Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 20:53:27 -0400
Message-id: <52083207.8050307@xxxxxxxxxxx>
On 8/11/2013 2:21 PM, Simon Spero wrote:
> On Aug 10, 2013 9:04 PM, Bruce Schuman wrote:
>
>> TAXONONOMIC DECOMPOSITION AND DECIMAL PLACES
>>
>> This is an idea that fascinates me and feels powerful – because it
>> seems “perfectly recursive” and amazingly parsimonious.  To me, this
>> idea feels like Occam’s Razor personified – so tell me why I’m wrong…
>
> Suppose that we were to use a fixed point representation, with the
> decimal place fixed after the third digit...
>
> Beneficial mammals could be assigned 599.163; ungulates 599.6.
>
> But what about ungulates that are beneficial?
>
> "The intellect cannot be tied down with a decimal thong"
> -- http://www.cafepress.com/ranganathong    (01)

Yes. Decimals can only encode a simple tree with single inheritance.    (02)

Llull, Leibniz, and librarians such as Ranganathan and many, many
others have recognized that multiple inheritance is essential
in any general-purpose ontology.    (03)

For further discussion and pointers to the FCA tools, see slides
94 to 96 of http://www.jfsowa.com/talks/kdptut.pdf    (04)

John    (05)

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