Re: CfP: 3rd European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 06)

Hi,

First of all I 'd like to say that I'm not deeply familiar with Semantic web technologies, however, SW is one of the things I'm really interested in. I don't think I will go to Europe for a conference as I'm not prepared. There some issues I have already resolved in my mind, f.ex. the problem of polysemy. I used to think that it would be too difficult to overcome the difference of extentions, then I realized that we can do it if we view information as standalone entities with fixed meaning, moreover, all words are usually in some context, so the meaning of a word can be defined by its relationship to everything else. I have also been concerned about many other issues - some of them are more or less clear for me now, some are not. I try to read related articles and talk to other people who are interested in SW and often know more than I, however I still feel confused... I feel like I have a lot of useful things in my pockets but I have no idea of what I should do with them. I'm not sure if it's my personal problem or I just have to get some professional education to dot the "i". 

On the other hand, I believe that personal participation in different events like conferences, workshops, seminars, etc. where you can talk to others, listen to different opinions, ask some of your questions and get them clarified straight away, can give you a kind of insight on many issues. But is that right for those who are not professionals and just posess some basic information? I wonder how deep the speakers usually go into each question and how complicated most of the topics are. Would you recommend me to visit the conference? Probably I should go there, maybe a similar event in the USA. And also, will you have some materials printed and available for sale later on?

I'm not sure what decision I will make, your opinion would be appreciated. I think there are many other people who are kind of stuck between the desire to see everything with their own eyes and fear to be a "lamer"))

I would like to thank you in advance for your understanding and hope to hear from you soon!

Regards,

Jane Neils
http://www.72works.com