Tefko Saracevic in his keynote address The notion of context in “Information Interaction in Context” at: the Third Information Interaction in Context Symposium (IIiX’10) offered the following five (5) axioms of context:
- Axiom 1: One cannot not have a context in information interaction. Every interaction is conducted within a context. Because context-less information interaction is impossible, it is not possible not to have a context.
- Axiom 2: Every interaction has a content and relationship aspect – context is the later and classifies the former. It means that all interactions, apart from information derived from meaning of words or terms describing the content, have more information to be derived from context.
- Axiom 3: The nature of information interaction is asymmetric; it involves differing processes and interpretation by parties involved. Contexts are asymmetric as well. Systems context is primarily about meanings; user context is primarily about situations.
- Axiom 4: Context is multilayered. It extends beyond users or systems. In interactions it is customary to consider direct context, but context extends indirectly to broader social context also.
- Axiom 5: Context is not self-revealing, nor is it self-evident. Context may be difficult to formulate and synthesize. But plenty can go wrong when not taken into consideration in interactions.
Unfortunately only an abstract of Saracevic’s keynote is reported in the proceedings.
I think his fifth axiom, Context is not self-revealing, nor it it self-evident, is the one most relevant for topic maps.
What subjects we mean to identify depend upon contexts we may only dimly sense. Mostly because they are so familiar.
In a Bible encoding project several years ago, none of our messages made the context clear because we shared the context in which those messages took place.
Anyone who stumbled upon those at the time or later, could have a hard time deciding what was being talked about and why?
We have always had the capacity to say more about context, but topic maps enable us to build mappings based on those statements of contexts.
The contexts that give our words meaning and identify the subjects of discussion.