I’m an ontologist. What does that mean?

Ontology is the study of being. It’s sometimes compared to epistemology, the study of knowledge. Ontologists come in different sorts (which is a very ontological statement). Some study the differences which make a difference, in Gregory Bateson’s memorable phrase. Others are interested in more epistemological questions of how best to model and represent knowledge. Yet others are interested in the nature of reality. In all these senses of the word, I’m an ontologist.

I’m interested and have quite strong opinions about what the structure of knowledge representation should look like for everyday domains. With that comes the idea of building rich taxonomies and ontologies of what makes everyday domains tick. And I like pondering the nature of how we experience reality and think that deeper understanding of that can change our day-to-day experience.