This is a journal bit for the project described in unrevprojectplan,
which is part of unrevdb

Throughout most of June progress on the database migration stalled as
a result of work in three areas:

  The paper describing CSpring, the java implementation of the Spring
  Layout algorithm (described, in part, in springalgo). The paper was
  required to clear an incomplete in L697. The associated project is
  described in project4.
 
  The creation of a readings group supported by a mailing list called
  augury.

  Continuing work with the portreview process described at


    http://lab.bootstrap.org/port


  in which there has been extensive dialog related to the paper that
  Kathryn and I created for the Pragmatic Web Workshop.
  
The readings in augury and the discussion in port review have led to a
lot of thought (and several mail messages) which are tightly coupled
with the goals of the unrevdb and are highly relevant to the approach
Kathryn and I have chosen to take with our experiments to provide
access to the unrev-ii archive.

Most are related to the nature of knowledge representation, creation
and access. Here are references to several of the messages (these are
_not_ in chronological order):


  http://lab.bootstrap.org/port/port-peer-review/0206/msg00015.html

    A review, by me, of one of the other papers in the workshop, "How
    WebKB could contribute to PORT" by Dr. Philippe Martin. It, 
    combined with my response to his review of the paper describing
    unrevdb:

  http://lab.bootstrap.org/port/port-peer-review/0206/msg00016.html

    started a debate on the place and value of formal knowledge
    representation, especially compared with knowledge access
    structures. The entire thread starts at:

  http://lab.bootstrap.org/port/port-peer-review/0206/msg00012.html

  
    A flip comment related to that on the unrev mailing list
    hosted at the Bootstrap Alliance

  http://www.bootstrap.org/lists/ba-unrev-talk/0206/msg00087.html#nid013


    "Earlier today I decided that knowledge access structures are
     far more important than knowledge representation formalisms.
     Access helps to generate new theory while avoiding repetition."

    spawned an invitation for me to expound. That produced this:

  http://www.bootstrap.org/lists/ba-unrev-talk/0206/msg00097.html

    which presents some of my views on what knowledge is, and why
    access is potentially more important.

    Much of the synthesis that allowed that message was the result of
    thinking expressed on the augury list, much in the form of
    questions, about the nature of knowledge and augmentation.

    In:

  http://www.burningchrome.com:81/archives/augury/msg00034.html

    I cast about for a definition of analogical and speculated how
    augmentation and embodied cognition are from a same mindset, one
    that does not coincide with old-school thoughts about cognitive
    science and artificial intelligence. In the aftermath of that 
    message I reflected upon the value of analogical thinking, deciding
    that it was the center of knowledge generation. Further thought 
    led to what amounts to a manifesto in response to the question of
    why are you doing this readings course:

  http://www.burningchrome.com:81/archives/augury/msg00036.html



From all this, I find that I'm more prepared to address the tasks of
creating the tools Kathryn and I need as well as revising the
Pragmatic Web Workshop paper.