Re: [ontolog-forum] The "qua-entities" paradigm

[Ravi Sharma <drravisharma@xxxxxxxxx>]

Could not agree more.

Regards,

Ravi

On Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 3:25 PM, John F Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 6/2/2015 10:46 AM, Bruce Schuman wrote:
> "Object Oriented Design, With Applications", by Grady Booch (1991)
> http://www.nicolasdanino.com/tongji/OOAD_Booch_3rd_Edition.pdf
>
> The book is rich with charming illustrations on fundamental issues
> of hierarchy and abstraction.

That's fine.  I'll point to a few of them to illustrate some general
points.  See page 46 (or p. 70 as Adobe counts) for a picture of a cat
from the point of view of the pet owner and a veterinarian.  One views
it as a purring fuzz ball, and the other sees a collection of parts.

> Do these principles illuminate the argument for a revolutionary
> simplification - consistent across disciplines and industries
> and cultures?

Since some people play both roles, the two views aren't contradictory.
But it's difficult to entertain both at the same time or to draw
coherent inferences from a mixture of the two descriptions.  That is
not a revolutionary observation.  But it shows that the goal of
a single universal, consistent foundation is too simplistic.

The notion of encapsulation on page 51 (or 76) shows a way to
accommodate both views:  simplify (or underspecify) the ontology
in order to ignore details that are treated differently in each view.
That is what Schema.org does.

Modularity (diagram on p. 54 or 79) is a related way of ignoring
troublesome details.  The detailed ontologies of different modules
may be inconsistent with one another.  But they can interoperate
by passing messages that use terms at the underspecified level.
When they ignore details, the pet owner and the vet can communicate.

Fundamental principle:  heterogeneity and diversity are essential.

John

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Thanks.
Ravi
(Dr. Ravi Sharma)
313 204 1740 Mobile

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