Re: [ontology-summit] Ontologies Save LIves

[Michael F Uschold <uschold@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Frank.  Let me respond to one comment.

> Linked Data is one thing, but it often works fine w/o ontologies

This is the (IMHO wrong) point of view now fashionable in LOD circles.
Try to integrate two datasets without looking at their schema,
or try to use a dataset you didn't build yourself, without looking at the schema....

I agree. What I meant to say it LOD is widely used w/o any ontologies.  They probably "should" be using them.  However, it is not up to us to tell them what is good for them, we need to help them see it for themselves.  If they can't see it, then from their perspective, things are "working just fine".   I don't have a killer argument that will make say 80% of the LODers see the value.  It amazes me that they are not being burnt by the examples you suggest above  [which should be a killer argument].

Michael 

On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 12:53 PM, Frank van Harmelen <frank.van.harmelen@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Michael F Uschold said the following:

Thanks. Linked Data is one thing, but it often works fine w/o ontologies.
Do you know if there was significant use of ontologies in this firefighting
example in Amsterdam?

In the general case: IMHO, ontologies are typically of use
[1] when integrating datasets (since you need to know the "schema's" in
   order to do the data-integration), or
[2] when datasets are used by other people than those who provided it
   (since you need to know the "schema" in order to use the data).

In this specific case, I think the A'dam FireDept work was done with city council data that was converted to OpenStreetMap by the same people who built and use the application, hence: no data-integration and no foreign users, so not much need for ontologies.
So the A'dam FireDept is more an illustration of Open Data then of semantics.

But I disagree with with the general point that

> Linked Data is one thing, but it often works fine w/o ontologies

This is the (IMHO wrong) point of view now fashionable in LOD circles.
Try to integrate two datasets without looking at their schema,
or try to use a dataset you didn't build yourself, without looking at the schema....

Frank.
  ----

Frank: this is in your home town - do you know anything about this? See
link below.   I'm working with the Ontolog forum on the 2011 Ontology
SUmmit whose topic is "Making the Case for Ontology".

--
Michael Uschold, PhD
   Senior Ontology Consultant, Semantic Arts

   LinkedIn: http://tr.im/limfu
   Skype, Twitter: UscholdM

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