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[Tim Bray]
>A resource is identified by URI and may emit representations. There's no way
>to tell from the representations what the resource "is"; I tend to believe a
>resource is what its publisher says it is as a good rule of thumb.
This smacks of the sense-thesis/reference-thesis corner of metaphysics.
I melted part of my brain recently with Saul Kripke's book "Naming and
Necessity"[1]. The whole discussion in the book about names as rigid
designators left me musing that (a) URIs are inherently unknowable beyond
their proper names (b) all we can ever have to work with are
representations and (c) none of those representations can be relied upon
in all possible worlds, therefore I'm with Tim on this one :-)
>But it doesn't affect the software very much.
Thankfully!
I remember reading that Murray Gell-Mann carried (carries?)
around a doctor's note forbidding him to get into debates on
metaphysics. Exploring the particle physics of the Web can
gets into similar territory.
regards,
Sean
[1]
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0674598466/102-0817413-9832960?v=glance
http://seanmcgrath.blogspot.com
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