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A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems) Review by Sunit Gala
Re: Not a review -- correcting an error by another reviewer, December 2, 2005
Hello,
Rather harsh correction, I'd say, Mr. "_x".
An ontology is merely a kind of (type of, subclass of, ... pick your term of choice) taxonomy. Any taxonomy always has principles of organization, even if the logical principles are inconsistent. Otherwise all biological taxa would be exercises in futility, for instance. Are you suggesting that everyone from Aristotle to Linnaeus to modern day biologists/taxonomists are morons?
Now let's get back to that big word you threw out there: subsumption. You precede this with the statement, "No sound reasoning is possible in a taxonomy." As opposed to an ontology? For sound reasoning in all cases, a logic must be both decidable and consistent. First order logic is neither -- we can thank Kurt Godel for this unfortunate predicament. In other words, subsumption is sound (consistent and decidable) only for certain subsets of first order logic.
So if subsumption in a given ontology is as expressive as first order logic, technically, you lose all the sound principles for organizing the hierarchy, and you're back to being a taxonomy.
Ah, ..., amateur ontologists are indeed the bane of a taxonomist's existence ... :-)
Cheers,
Sunit.
PS. My apologies to the gentle reader for not posting a review of the book (which was recommended by someone who's judgment I respect), and instead getting into an old-fashioned "flame-war," but I didn't want you to not buy this book because someone claiming to be an expert turns out to be just whingeing.