Dear Mike, (01)
You are nearer the mark here. For me a particular implementation technology is
not what makes something an ontology or not. I would argue that databases are
willy nilly ontologies, since they make statements about the sorts of things
there are, and some rules that govern them. Perhaps more importantly a database
can be a very suitable implementation environment for an ontology, depending on
what your purposes are. (02)
Regards (03)
Matthew West
Information Junction
Tel: +44 560 302 3685
Mobile: +44 750 3385279
matthew.west@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.informationjunction.co.uk/
http://www.matthew-west.org.uk/ (04)
This email originates from Information Junction Ltd. Registered in England and
Wales No. 6632177.
Registered office: 2 Brookside, Meadow Way, Letchworth Garden City,
Hertfordshire, SG6 3JE. (05)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ontology-summit-
> bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Bennett
> Sent: 14 December 2010 20:52
> To: steve.r.ray@xxxxxxxxxx; Ontology Summit 2011 discussion
> Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] Invitation to a brainstorming call for the 2011
> Ontology Summit
>
> Playing devil's advocate: Another way of framing this is that
> every application has an ontology anyway. The question is how it
> is framed, if at all. Are the meanings of terms resident only in
> the head of the developer, or in some logical model with written
> term definitions (weak semantics) or in a formal language which
> grounds the meanings of terms with reference to some logical
> formalism?
>
> In other words, isn't the case to be made, not the case for
> ontologies (those are ubiquitious) but the case for formalizing
> the same?
>
> I agree that this would still not itself be a discussion of the
> case for using this or that formalism or language.
>
> Mike
>
> On 14/12/2010 16:27, Steve Ray wrote:
> > I was relieved to see your message, Todd. My strong sense is that we are not
> yet to the point where the general commercial user accepts the use of
> ontologies of any kind. Therefore, we need to get past that basic hurdle
> before we start trying to make the case for a more sophisticated treatment. We
> need strong examples, quantified in concrete terms.
> > (Just my opinion, of course)
> >
> > - Steve
> >
> > Steven R. Ray, Ph.D.
> > Distinguished Research Fellow
> > Carnegie Mellon University
> > NASA Research Park
> > Building 23 (MS 23-11)
> > P.O. Box 1
> > Moffett Field, CA 94305-0001
> > Email: steve.r.ray@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Phone: (650) 587-3780
> > Cell: (202) 316-6481
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ontology-summit-
> bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Todd J Schneider
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 7:20 AM
> > To: Ontology Summit 2011 discussion
> > Cc: Ontology Summit 2011 discussion; ontology-summit-
> bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] Invitation to a brainstorming call for the
> 2011 Ontology Summit
> >
> > Nicola,
> >
> > While I agree with your premise and its value (and promote
> > this aspect), there is still great reluctance to make use
> > of semantic technologies in general and ontologies and
> > their development paradigms in particular.
> >
> > So, as part of making the business case for the use of
> > semantic technologies and ontologies I suggest starting
> > with the general business case of why to use ontologies,
> > focusing on data models (something familiar and the cause
> > of many systems and software problems), how ontologies
> > and semantic technologies can greatly aid in these areas,
> > then bring out the specific capabilities that provide
> > such aid (e.g., ontological analysis), then how these
> > capabilities are already used (to some extent) in
> > current practices (i.e., why there shouldn't be great
> > trepidation in their use).
> >
> > Thoughts?
> >
> > Todd
> >
> >
> >
> > From:
> > Nicola Guarino<guarino@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > To:
> > Ontology Summit 2011 discussion<ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Date:
> > 12/14/2010 07:01 AM
> > Subject:
> > Re: [ontology-summit] Invitation to a brainstorming call for the 2011
> > Ontology Summit
> > Sent by:
> > ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear colleagues,
> >
> > I also agree very much with John and Matthew concerning
> > the importance of high quality ontologies, and on their observation that
> > the quest for high quality data models in software engineering definitely
> > reflects a sensitivity to important ontological aspects much higher than
> > what we find in people just focusing on ontology languages.
> >
> > In the light of this, I suggest to specify a bit more the
> > overall theme of our Summit, which in my opinion could be "Making the case
> > for ontological analysis" instead of "Making the case for ontology". An
> > alternative could be "Making the case for high-quality ontologies".
> >
> > The reason for this proposal should be self-evident, I
> > believe. Deciding how much effort to put in developing a particular
> > ontology is a crucial choice, and it is very important to distinguish the
> > cases where a proper ontological analysis pays off, and is indeed a
> > crucial aspect of success, from those where a "lightweight" approach is
> > sufficient.
> >
> > Just brainstorming...
> >
> > Talk to you soon,
> >
> > Nicola
> >
> > On 9 Dec 2010, at 16:03, John F. Sowa wrote:
> >
> >> Dear Matthew and Peter,
> >>
> >> MW:
> >>> ... my forthcoming book “Developing High Quality Data Models”.
> > Substitute
> >>> ontology for data model and the same argument applies. The benefits
> > come
> >>> from improving and automating decision making through fit-for-purpose
> >>> information to support those decisions.
> >> I very strongly agree. Software engineers have been doing ontology
> >> (avant la lettre, as they say) for a very long time. And much of that
> >> work has been very good -- sometimes much better than what people are
> >> doing with so-called ontology languages.
> >> _________________________________________________________________
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>
> --
> Mike Bennett
> Director
> Hypercube Ltd.
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