Was posted, and comments appreciated. Was my comment posted about English being the standard language in aviation?
--- Joanne On Jun 23, 2011, at 8:51 AM, Bob Futrelle wrote: > There is a spectrum here, from black to white. A house number, 223 Main > Street, is rather opaque,, whereas "The third house west of the southwest > corner of Main and Jones" is less opaque. > > A real challenge is Japan, where the house addresses are numbered in the > order in which the houses were constructed - close to totally opaque, though > not meaningless. Knowing the construction dates still does not help in > determining the location coordinates. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_numbering > > A bit more complex: Houses can be picked and deposited in a new location. > Street numbers are (very) occasionally revised; zip codes and area codes more > often. Closer to home, genes and diseases are renamed. > > - Bob Futrelle > > PS: I'm not sure that this will be posted to the list. > > > > On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 8:28 AM, Michel_Dumontier > <michel_dumont...@carleton.ca> wrote: > Hi Sivaram, > Identifiers, whether opaque or not, hold meaning when they identify some > thing (or things) - otherwise they do not serve their intended purpose. > > Where there is disagreement is in terms of the syntax of the identifier. Some > want to incorporate language mnemonic and others use an alphanumeric > identifier some namespace. The plethora of coding systems indicates that the > alphanumeric identifier is a perfectly acceptable system. The plethora of > linked data vocabularies indicates that a language mnemonic is a perfectly > acceptable system. Respectfully, there is nothing to test here. > > The only thing we can do is accept that both will exist as part of the > semantic web. We're best to focus on what tools and approaches are required > to work with such data and deal with substantive issues relating to > conceptualization, formalization, publishing, internationalization, > versioning, change management, mapping, reuse, query and discovery. > > Best, > > m. > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: public-semweb-lifesci-requ...@w3.org [mailto:public-semweb-lifesci- > > requ...@w3.org] On Behalf Of Sivaram Arabandi, MD > > Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:23 AM > > To: HCLS > > Subject: In defense of meaninglessness: an ontologist's dilemma* > > > > The issue of meaningless identifiers has been far more controversial than > > imagined. After 70+ emails in the 2 threads > > (http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-semweb- > > lifesci/2011Jun/0080.html and http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public- > > semweb-lifesci/2011Jun/0125.html), there is still no consensus. > > > > The views expressed in these threads demonstrates the substantial > > experience of the members as well as the commitment of the group as a whole > > to discuss it fairly and openly. However, no consensus has emerged. > > Therefore, instead of continuing to bicker, perhaps this group should > > approach it more scientifically and setup experiment(s) to test the > > hypothesis that "MEANINGLESS (identifier) IS MEANINGFUL". > > > > As a member of the standards body, perhaps this would be worthy goal of the > > HCLS charter. > > > > The ramifications of the proposed change to meaningless identifiers is > > quite far reaching. If not approached careful, it will result in alienating > > a substantial portion of the community. Hence, it is imperative that such a > > move must build consensus before being undertaken. > > > > The current rationale put forward by OBO Foundry (http://obofoundry.org/id- > > policy.shtml) has not been convincing - hence this current controversy. The > > OBO Foundry should acknowledge this reality and work towards consensus > > building by collaborating and constructing useful "proof of concept" use > > cases that demonstrate the benefits of the "meaningless identifiers" in the > > Semantic Web area. Not doing so will result in the very thing that the > > Foundry and HCLS is trying to avoid - fragmentation! > > > > best > > Sivaram > > * subject line is an adaptation of Michael Pollan's bestsellers on food. > > :) > > > > ____________________________ > > Sivaram Arabandi, MD, MS > > Ph: 216.374.2883 > > > > http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SivaramArabandi > > http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sivaram-arabandi/1/9ab/92a > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3719 - Release Date: 06/22/11 > > > > ----- > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3719 - Release Date: 06/22/11 > >
