Authoring: In and Out of the Real World

MesMuses 2003

Andy DingleyCodesmiths

http://codesmiths.com

Introduction

“For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing.”

- Ursula Le Guin

Nominals

Three Levels of Solution

• Recognising the problem• Techniques within a project• Publishing outside the project.

Level of Dependency on Nominals

• None– Static– Flexible

• All– Self-populating

• Some– Worst of both worlds

Three Use Cases

• Input• Output• Authoring

Output

• Embedded on the published page• Harvesting; Open Archives

Initiative , XML web services• Distributed querying;

Z39.50, XML web services

<title>ARKive species | Barbastelle bat | Barbastella barbastellus | Overview</title>

<META name="WPC" content="@CHAPTER_UK">

<META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Animalia"> <META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Chordata"> <META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Mammalia"> <META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Chiroptera"> <META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Vespertilionidae">

<META name="WPC" content="@LOC_Europe">

<META name="WPC" content="@HAB_Broadleaved">

<META name="WPC" content="@BEHAV_Carnivorous"> <META name="WPC" content="@BEHAV_Flying">

<META name="WPC" content="@STATUS_I-V"> <META name="WPC" content="@STATUS_CITES II"> <META name="WPC" content="@STATUS_UKBAP Priority"> <META name="WPC" content="@STATUS_WCA"> <META name="WPC" content="@STATUS_Habitats Directive">

<META NAME="DC.Rights" CONTENT="http://www.arkive.org/tandc.html">

<META NAME="DC.Publisher" CONTENT="ARKive">

<META NAME="DC.Language" CONTENT="en-UK">

<META NAME="DC.Type" CONTENT="Text">

<META NAME="DC.Format" CONTENT="text/html">

<META NAME="DC.Date" CONTENT="Thu May 08 16:51:24 BST 2003">

<META NAME="DC.Identifier" CONTENT="http://www.arkive.org/species/overview/overview_t.jsp?id=4747">

<META NAME="DC.Subject" CONTENT="Barbastella barbastellus">

<META NAME="DC.Title" CONTENT="ARKive species | Barbastelle bat | Barbastella barbastellus | Overview">

<META NAME="DC.Description" CONTENT="ARKive species | Barbastelle bat | Barbastella barbastellus | Overview">

<META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Chiroptera">

<META name="WPC" content="@SPEC_Vespertilionidae">

<META name="WPC" content="@LOC_Europe">

Metadada

<META name=”taxonomy" scheme="DCMIDCSV" content=”order=Chiroptera">

<META name="taxonomy" scheme="DCMIDCSV" content="species=Vespertilionidae">

<META name=”DC.Coverage.Spatial" scheme=”TGN" content="Europe">

Input

• How• What

Sparse Database ?

Dense• Filtered on input

+ Simple implementation

– Extensibility

Sparse• Requires filtering

on output

+ Incremental growth

A Surfeit of Orchids

Authoring

Need for third-party tools

• Complex problem• Technical expertise• Exceeds project budget

• Need for open standards

Limits of Classical Taxonomy

• Poor model of many realities• Chosen because it’s easy to code• Irrelevant to many audiences

Cladistics

Cognitive Sciences Theory

• Prototypes• Fuzzy set theory• Cognitive models

Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge(after Borges)

• those that belong to the Emperor

• embalmed ones

• those that are trained

• suckling pigs

• mermaids

• fabulous ones

• stray dogs

• those included in the present classification

• those that tremble as if they were mad

• innumerable ones

• those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush

• others

• those that have just broken a flower vase

• those that from a long way off look like flies

Women, Fire and Dangerous Things

• BayiMen, kangaroos, possums, bats, most snakes, most fish, some birds, insects, the moon, some spears

• BalanWomen, bandicoots, platypus, echidna, some snakes, some fish, most birds, water, fire or the sun, the hairy mary grub, some spears

• BalamEdible fruit and plants, cigarettes, wine, cake

• BalaParts of the body, meat, bees,wind, most trees, grass, mud, stones, some spears, all others

• (after George Lakoff)

Conclusions

• Metadata is a dialogue, not a monologue.

• Authoring will require shared tools. • Classical taxonomies are

inadequate.We must look to fields outside IT.

“The mistaken notions of Naturalists are hereby stricken out of the record so as to prevent damage to learning.”

T’ien-Kung K’ai-Wu(The Creations of Nature and Man)

Sung Ying-Hsing, 1637