[sc34wg3] Are topic maps about knowledge representation?

[H. Holger Rath]

Hi,

I second Steve's claim that TMs represent knowledge.

--Holger

Steve Pepper wrote:
> 
> In the current "Editor's working copy" of the SAM at
> 
>     http://www.isotopicmaps.org/sam/sam-model/
> 
> the Introduction starts with this paragraph:
> 
>    Topic maps are abstract structures which encode
>    information about a domain and connect this information to
>    information resources that are considered relevant to the
>    domain. Topic maps are organized around topics, which are
>    symbols representing subjects of discourse, associations
>    representing relationships between the subjects, and
>    occurrences, which connect the subjects to pertinent
>    information resources.
> 
> I propose to change this to the following:
> 
>    Topic maps are abstract structures which encode
>    knowledge about a domain and connect this knowledge to
>    information resources that are considered relevant to the
>    domain. Topic maps are organized around topics, which are
>    symbols representing subjects of discourse, associations
>    representing relationships between the subjects, and
>    occurrences, which connect the subjects to pertinent
>    information resources.
> 
> To me, topic maps *are* about knowledge representation and I
> think we should say so clearly in the standard.
> 
> I strongly believe there is a sense in which we can legitimately
> claim that topic maps capture knowledge. (For the record, I also
> believe that we cannot legitimately say that topic maps capture
> knowledge in ALL senses of the word...)
> 
> Steve
> 
> --
> Steve Pepper, Chief Executive Officer <pepper@ontopia.net>
> Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34/WG3  Editor, XTM (XML Topic Maps)
> Ontopia AS, Waldemar Thranes gt. 98, N-0175 Oslo, Norway.
> http://www.ontopia.net/ phone: +47-23233080 GSM: +47-90827246
> 
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> sc34wg3@isotopicmaps.org
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-- 
Dr. H. Holger Rath
- Head of Consulting -

empolis * GmbH
Bertelsmann MOHN Media Group
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phone :  +49-172-66-90-427
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<mailto:holger.rath@empolis.com>
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