International Description Logic Workshop, 2006
by Bijan Parsia
As some know, the W3C’s standardized Semantic Web languages are oriented toward logic based knowledge representation, and the most mature logic (or family of logics) in there are notational variants of Description Logics. I know some, perhaps many, people would find this claim tendentious, but they are wrong. If you look at what is standardized and what is best supported, then Description Logics win (even moreso if you throw in expressivity). This is not to say that there aren’t other interesting things in the mix, nor is it to say that there aren’t other sorts of logic based KR that are equally mature.
So, one would think that the Description Logic Workshop, which is the premier DL party of the year, would get a lot of Semantic Web attention. Alas, no. Not this year, at least. I partially blame myself. Er…as I should as a co-organizer! (To be fair, the last three years I’ve attended weren’t Semantic Web heavy either.)
Of course, it is a pretty technical and, darst I write it, academic event. But it brings together a lot of smart people who have a lot of knowledge, insight, and wisdom to offer in this space. It’s good to get to know them. This is a good way to get to know them!
So, if you are, in fact, interested in OWL as it is, think about attending. The location couldn’t be prettier.
I’m saddened, like many, by Octavia Butler’s deaths. I love almost all of her books, but the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents stand out for their near future apocolyptic vision. More striking, I think, than The Handmaid’s tale.
