What is a Reference Concept? AI3:::Adaptive Information.
And, Seven Guidelines for this Second of Two Semantic ‘Gaps’
I have been writing and speaking of late about next priorities to promote the interoperability oflinked data and thesemantic Web. In atalk a few weeks back to theDublin Core (DCMI)annual conference, I summarized these priorities as the need to address two aspects of the semantic “gap”:
- One aspect is the need for vetted reference sources that provide the entities and concepts for aligning disparate content sources on the Web, and
- A second aspect is the need for accurate mapping predicates that can represent the often approximate matches and overlaps of this heterogeneous content.
I discussed the second aspect in an earlier post [1]. In today’s installment, we now focus on the “gap” relating to reference concepts.
One aspect is the need for vetted reference sources that provide the entities and concepts for aligning disparate content sources on the Web, andA second aspect is the need for accurate mapping predicates that can represent the often approximate matches and overlaps of this heterogeneous content.I discussed the second aspect in an earlier post [1]. In today’s installment, we now focus on the “gap” relating to reference concepts.
Interoperability comes down to the nature of things and how we describe those things or quite similar things from different sources. Given the robust nature of semantic heterogeneities in diverse sources and datasets on the Web (or anywhere else, for that matter!)[2], how do we bring similar or related things into alignment? And, then, how can we describe the nature or basis of that alignment?
Of course, classifiers sinceAristotle and librarians for time immemorial have been putting forward variousclassification schemes,controlled vocabularies andsubject headings. When one wants to find related books, it is convenient to go to a central location where books about the same or related topics are clustered. And, if the book can be categorized in more than one way — as all are — then something like a card catalog is helpful to find additional cross-references. Every domain of human endeavor makes similar attempts to categorize things.
On the Web we have none of the limitations of physical books and physical libraries; locations are virtual and copies can be replicated or split apart endlessly because of the essentially zero cost of another electron. But, we still need to find things and we still want to gather related things together. According to Svenonius, “Organizing information if it means nothing else means bringing all the same information together”[3]. This sentiment and need remains unchanged whether we are talking about books, Web documents, chemical elements or linked data on the Web.
Continues @http://www.mkbergman.com
