Re: Temporal validitity of subject indicators?

Robert,

On 5/8/2011 5:16 PM, Robert Cerny wrote:
<snip>
> I freely grant that what ensues is the "Tower of Babel" but then topic 
> maps were never a solution to that problem. They can only lessen its 
> impact in particular contexts. Among people willing to commit the 
> effort for the benefit of collating information from diverse sources.
>> To put it another way, there isn't ever a point a which we have it all "straightened out" and free from error.
> I am sorry, but i have to disagree. Most of the things are pretty straight. I get transactions that are meant for me on my account. In a hospital i do get the treatment that a doctor intends me to have. This email will reach you. Most of the things are pretty easy and not sophisticated and Topic Maps can help in all those areas as well, not only when you have five different terminologies for the same domain. But therefore the people applying them have to be fully aware of its strengths and weaknesses. Just imagine the effect a wrong subject identity decision in Topic Maps Hospital system can have.
>
Note my use of the word *all.*

Sure, we can reduce the amount of error to acceptable levels (do you 
think 100,000 medical error deaths per year is acceptable? That is the 
current insurance company projected rate in the US).

You would have to name a system that you think is "...pretty straight" 
for us to agree/disagree about. My experience has been that systems that 
seem "pretty straight" are seen at a distance or not truly understood.

The recent US debacles involving invading other countries for example. 
Military action looks simple, you just bust everything up and you are 
greeted as liberators and then you come home. Actually it is a bit more 
complicated than that. But, there are people, including the howling mad 
ones on Fox, who think it is just that simple.

Hope you are at the start of a great week!

Patrick

PS: I have to post some stuff on my blog and go put some bread in the 
oven. So, until tomorrow!


> Kind regards,
>
> Robert

-- 
Patrick Durusau
patrick-Q/[email protected]
Chair, V1 - US TAG to JTC 1/SC 34
Convener, JTC 1/SC 34/WG 3 (Topic Maps)
Editor, OpenDocument Format TC (OASIS), Project Editor ISO/IEC 26300
Co-Editor, ISO/IEC 13250-1, 13250-5 (Topic Maps)

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