Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

July 16, 2010

Lesson for Topic Maps?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Patrick Durusau @ 8:10 am

In an exchange over a MapReduce resource, Robert Barta observed how large that ecosystem has grown in just a year, and suggested there is a lesson for the TM community in that growth. But what lesson is that? (He didn’t say, but I have written to ask.)

“MapReduce” isn’t a cooler a name than “Topic Maps” so that’s not lesson.

MapReduce isn’t less complex than topic maps so that’s not the lesson as well.

Two issues that MapReduce does not face:

  1. Users resisted (and still do resist) markup because it requires making explicit choices about the structure of a text. We learn text structures from users, but for the most part, they are reluctant to name those parts. Is there an analogy to making subjects explicit for a topic map?
  2. If we identify our subjects (our insider vocabulary), then what makes us special will be known by others.

MapReduce doesn’t face the first issue because users can create whatever mapping they wish, without ever saying explicitly what subjects are involved. It also preserves the special nature of insider vocabularies since it has no explicit mechanism for identifying subjects.

Are those the lessons? If they are, are there work arounds? Are there other lessons?

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