Re: DBpedia as possible project

Hi Andrew,

[...]
>> I think "instance of"/"type of" is one of the most misused statements
>> at all.

> Maybe so, but sometimes where it gets "misused" is at or across
> context boundaries, isn't it?

Yes.

> Honestly, this is something that I struggle with from time to time
> too, but basically, to me at least, instance of/type of just means
> instance A *may* share or include properties associated with type X.
[...]
> What would you say was "correct" usage? Is it an absolute or a
> contextually-bound statement?

In a perfect model it would be an absolute statement. A fact/statement
which does not change.

Is Joe Cocker an instance of "plumber", "composer", or "musician"? In
a better model these instance of statements would be modelled as
associations where the mentioned topics would i.e. play the role
"occupation".

In natural language we say often "something" is an instance of
"something else", but in our models we could be more exact (if we
want). Am I an instance of "child"? I herewith confess that I have
parents. ;)

Best regards,
Lars
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