green_amber

I just asked (poor sweet)

easterbunny this but it occurs to me I may as well ask y'all..

Does the Semantic Web imply the need for one ontology to rule them all? I can see how you can map/join ontologies that are contiguous and (hopefully) exclusive eg one for mammals and one for invertebrates, so you end up with an ontology of animals? . But supposing you're trying to develop an ontology for tax law? A German lawyer will see different concept, in different orders of precedence, and use different phrases (even after translation) than a UK lawyer or a US lawyer. Can all 3 start working independently on their ontologies and eventually usefully share data in applications, or do they all have to agree an ontology at scratch (which just ain't going to happen?)

This is after lunch with Burkhard the mad German ontologist :-)

In other news, I am off to PloktaPi tomorrow - yay! - on the train, not plane, partly as a compromise with work/life balance; I have great hopes of getting most my essays marked on the train. ( don't tell the AUT ). Getting hair cut a.m. to look bootiful, and have bought lotsa new clothes with mother on Tuesday, some of which may accompany me:-) In particular, I acquired a rather wonderful ecru linen transparent coat thing in Per Una to go over a brown/cream sundress, which I think looks rather Katherine Zeta Jones altogether, for my brother's wedding in JUne -- a pic may follow . Sunday is supposed to be a trip to the revamped tate Modern with

peter_crump and altogether I think I Need a Break and Oh Good I've Got One! (many thanks to

bohemiancoast for putting up with me again..)