[topicmapmail] Logicians do not rule the world (fortunately)

[Steve Pepper]

* Lars Marius Garshol
|
| > Note that symmetry does not need to be expressed, since symmetrical  
| > relations will always be represented in the following form:
| >
| >   borders-with(norway : neighbour, sweden : neighbour)
| >
| > Since both topics in the association play roles of the same type, the 
| >  association must be symmetric.

* Murray Altheim
| 
| You've with one statement already mixed an unnamed form of logic
| with topography and/or political geography, also unnamed. The
| danger in these kinds of statements is [etc...]

This response seemed a little aggressive.

Why do you assume some "unnamed form of logic"? Why do logicians
think they have a monopoly on knowledge? What's wrong with common
sense and everyday experience, which indexers and librarians have
been using for centuries?

It happens that Norway *does* border with Sweden and that this
implies the unavoidable (symmetric) fact that Sweden borders with
Norway. Why should we not be able to express that in Topic Maps
without digging ourselves into a bottomless pit of logic?

Steve

--
Steve Pepper <pepper at ontopia.net>
Chief Strategy Officer, Ontopia
Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34/WG 3
Coordinator, W3C RDF/TM Task Force
Editor, XTM (XML Topic Maps 1.0)