Re: How are statements grounded ?

From: <jos.deroo.jd@belgium.agfa.com>

> > > [Graham]
> > > Sooner or later, methinks, it is needed that statements are grounded
in
> > > "real-world" knowledge.  How do you suggest that such grounding may be
> > > introduced into a system?
> > >
> > > (I propose it is through axiomatic facts and inference rules.)
> >
> > [Seth]
> > I agree, it is needed.   I propose that practical "real-world" knowledge
is
> > grounded in the effective procedures of interacting active processes.
> >
> > Logic is great, but survival is better :)
>
> Mathematics provides methods for reasoning: for manipulating
> expressions, for providig properties from and about expressions,
> and for obtaining new results from known ones. This reasoning
> can be done without knowing or caring what the symbols being
> manipulating mean. [David Gries & Fred B. Schneider]

Yes, but symbol manipulation is not grounding.  Just manipulating symbols
without grounding them to reality is but an academic game.  If the semantic
web (or cloud) is to be useful to us for anything, then it must be grounded
in what people want to do.  I believe that was the thrust of Grahm's
question, but perhaps not.

> Escaping into that space, and returning from it in a much
> better shape can be a very effective survival mechanism :-)

The question is what is the space from which we "escape" into logic and to
which we return... methinks that space is the dialogues that users have with
their computers and with each other ... those active processess including
the intentions and contexts of which they consist must be our grounding.

Seth

Received on Sunday, 11 March 2001 14:01:40 UTC