[sc34wg3] revised draft Reference Model document N0298

[Steven R. Newcomb]

"Ann M Wrightson" <ann.wrightson@alphaxml.com> writes:

> >the land occupied by the
> >State of Texas is not an expression of itself, it
> >simply is.  A map of Texas, on the other hand,
> >*expresses* things about the territory occupied by
> >Texas.

> However, that the land occupied by the state of Texas
> *is capable of being identified as a subject*,
> depends crucially on a conceptual framework
> (consensus on a division of the landmass into
> territories in that way) represented by (a suitable
> equivalence class of) maps.

Ann, I'm not sure what you're getting at.  

* Anyone can make a map.  Nobody has to agree that it
  corresponds to reality; the map's existence and
  utility may be independent of the existence of the
  mapped region.  (E.g., a map of Narnia.)

* No topic map, and no other instance of any form of
  human communication, stands alone.  Nobody can
  communicate with anybody about anything unless
  there's some shared context (such as a common natural
  language, or agreement about the shape of the North
  American land mass) that makes such communication
  possible.  (If that's your point, I'm with you all
  the way.)

* Subjects are in the mind of the topic map's author.
  If we presume that a topic map has utility, we
  necessarily presume that its author "knew what
  [subjects] he was talking about", even if we do not
  understand them, and even if we *mis*understand them.
  If there is a lack of understanding on our part, it
  is not necessarily clear whether the fault lies in
  ourselves, or in the insufficient precision or
  persuasive power of the topic map's author's choice
  of subject indicators, or in the failure of the
  author to think clearly and precisely.

With all that in mind, when you say:

> ...that the land occupied by the state of Texas *is
> capable of being identified as a subject*, depends
> crucially on a conceptual framework (consensus on a
> division of the landmass into territories in that
> way)...

...what do you mean by "being identified" and "depends
on"?  Are you speaking about the accuracy with which an
idea is invoked by the author of a subject indicator in
the consciousness of another person?  (In which case, I
agree with you.)  Or are you saying that there must be
consensus on the conceptual framework within which a
landmass is divided into separately-administered
territories?  (In which case, I'm not sure I agree with
you.)  Or are you saying that I can't have Texas as one
of my subjects unless I also represent a complex of
subjects, such as "statehood", that are necessary in
order to fully understand what is meant by invoking the
idea of one instance of such a state?  (I very much
doubt that you mean any such thing, but if you do, I
disagree with you on grounds of impracticality.)

-- Steve

Steven R. Newcomb, Consultant
srn@coolheads.com

Coolheads Consulting
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