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Semantics | Nov 12 2003

Some guy named Clay Shirkey recently wrote a piece about why the Semantic Web is a bunch of hooey, which a lot of other people have responded to with pieces of their own (e.g. Danny Ayers, Tim Bray, Paul Ford, Shelley Powers).

I think I’ve read everyone’s pieces so far, and I have to admit that I don’t understand what anyone is talking about. I can follow the sentences and even, it seems, the arguments, but evidently some necessary thing is missing to make me understand what everyone is saying and why.

This reminds me of something, but I can’t remember what.

Maybe it’s being a kid and overhearing my parents and their friends talk about sex and having the sense that something important is being said but not knowing what nor being able to figure out what no matter how hard I try, despite knowing all the words pretty much, except maybe a handful.

That must be what it reminds me of.

Anyway, speaking of sex (which to this day still mystifies me, despite my having long since learned all the words, including some my parents never used or probably even knew), I realized recently that I understand vaginas better. I saw some photographs that helped.

I’m not kidding.