The Hermeneutics of Data Representation

Abstract

When we consult a file on disk, or receive a data stream on a network port, we see a sequence of bits. What does it mean? And can we tell the difference between a meaningful sequence of bits and garbage? Any work involving the machine-readable representation of knowledge must consider both how to validate the representation mechanically (to detect and possibly recover from transmission or storage errors) and how to verify the information semantically and reason about it systematically. The talk will survey some possible approaches to each of these problems and point to current technologies that seem promising in addressing them. At another level, however, data representation has another kind of meaning. Like any cultural artifact, a data representation tells a story about the culture that made it. What do our choices of data representation say about our culture? And what does XML have to do with Kant’s definition of enlightenment?When we consult a file on disk, or receive a data stream on a network port, we see a sequence of bits. What does it mean? And can we tell the difference between a meaningful sequence of bits and garbage? Any work involving the machine-readable representation of knowledge must consider both how to validate the representation mechanically (to detect and possibly recover from transmission or storage errors) and how to verify the information semantically and reason about it systematically. The talk will survey some possible approaches to each of these problems and point to current technologies that seem promising in addressing them. At another level, however, data representation has another kind of meaning. Like any cultural artifact, a data representation tells a story about the culture that made it. What do our choices of data representation say about our culture? And what does XML have to do with Kant’s definition of enlightenment?