Re: SUO: Re: ontology as science
Jon,
That was the original motivation for Cyc back in 1984:
JA> A research support ontology, at a non-negotiable minimum,
> would start from a stock of "basic undergrad knowledge"
> and go from there. So far, it been like having teeth
> pulled (by an amateur dentist) trying to get across
> even the most basic standard textbook definitions
> of concepts that nobody would argue with for
> a second in any of the research communities
> that I have ever worked with.
But in 1991, they added microtheories because there were
too many inconsistencies in the knowledge that was required
to support applications. Today, they have 6000 and growing.
I agree that the basic undergrad knowledge is important,
but it is impossible to use it without being able to
accommodate contextual differences, disagreements about
how to apply it, and so forth into the knowledge soup.
John