After early retirement at IBM, Sowa in 2001 cofounded VivoMind Intelligence, Inc. with Arun K. Majumdar. With this company he was developing data-mining and database technology, more specifically high-level "ontologies" for artificial intelligence and automated natural language understanding. Currently Sowa is working with Kyndi Inc., also founded by Majumdar.
Sowa invented conceptual graphs, a graphic notation for logic and natural language, based on the structures in semantic networks and on the existential graphs of Charles S. Peirce. He introduced the concept in the 1976 article "Conceptual graphs for a data base interface" in the IBM Journal of Research and Development.[7] He elaborated upon it in the 1983 book Conceptual structures: information processing in mind and machine.
In the 1980s, this theory had "been adopted by a number of research and development groups throughout the world.[4] International conferences on conceptual structures (ICCS) have been held since 1993, following a series of conceptual graph workshops that began in 1986.[8]
Sowa's law of standardsedit
In 1991, Sowa first stated his Law of Standards:
"Whenever a major organization develops a new system as an official standard for X, the primary result is the widespread adoption of some simpler system as a de facto standard for X."[9]
Like Gall's law, The Law of Standards is essentially an argument in favour of underspecification. Examples include:
1984. Conceptual Structures - Information Processing in Mind and Machine. The Systems Programming Series, Addison-Wesley[10]
1991. Principles of Semantic Networks. Morgan Kaufmann.
Mineau, Guy W; Moulin, Bernard; Sowa, John F, eds. (1993). Conceptual Graphs for Knowledge Representation. LNCS. Vol. 699. doi:10.1007/3-540-56979-0. ISBN 978-3-540-56979-4. S2CID 32275791.
1994. International Conference on Conceptual Structures (2nd : 1994 : College Park, Md.) Conceptual structures, current practices : Second International Conference on Conceptual Structures, ICCS'94, College Park, Maryland, USA, August 16–20, 1994 : proceedings. William M. Tepfenhart, Judith P. Dick, John F. Sowa, eds.
Ellis, Gerard; Levinson, Robert; Rich, William; Sowa, John F, eds. (1995). Conceptual Structures: Applications, Implementation and Theory. LNCS. Vol. 954. doi:10.1007/3-540-60161-9. ISBN 978-3-540-60161-6. S2CID 27300281.
Sowa, J. F. (July 1976). "Conceptual Graphs for a Data Base Interface". IBM Journal of Research and Development. 20 (4): 336–357. doi:10.1147/rd.204.0336.
Sowa, J. F.; Zachman, J. A. (1992). "Extending and formalizing the framework for information systems architecture". IBM Systems Journal. 31 (3): 590–616. doi:10.1147/sj.313.0590.
1992. "Conceptual Graph Summary"; In: T.E. Nagle et al. (Eds.). Conceptual Structures: Current Research and Practice. Chichester: Ellis Horwood.
1995. "Top-level ontological categories." in: International journal of human-computer studies. Vol. 43, Iss. 5–6, Nov. 1995, pp. 669–685
2006. "Semantic Networks". In: Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science.. John Wiley & Sons.
In popular cultureedit
John Sowa is claimed to be a protagonist of the fantasy novel Great Works: A tale of logic and magic. The epic of John Sowa, but according to a comment that book is not related to him.[13]
Referencesedit
^Kecheng Liu (2000) Semiotics in Information Systems Engineering. p.54 states: Conceptual graphs are devised as a language of knowledge representation by Sowa (1984), based on philosophy, psychology and linguistics. Knowledge in conceptual graph form is highly structured by modelling specialised facts that can be subjected to generalised reasoning.
^Marite Kirikova (2002) Information Systems Development: Advances in Methodologies, Components, and Management. p.194. states: The original theory of conceptual graphs was introduced by Sowa (Sowa, 1984 ). A conceptual graph is a finite, connected, bipartite graph. It includes notions of concepts, relations, and actors...
^Andreas Tolk, Lakhmi C. Jain (2011) Intelligent-Based Systems Engineering. p.xxi
^ abcJohn F. Sowa and John Zachman (1992). "Extending and Formalizing the Framework for Information Systems Architecture" In: IBM Systems Journal, Vol 31, no.3, 1992. p. 590-616.
^Cora Angier Sowa (1984) Traditional themes and the Homeric hymns. p.iv
^Sowa, John F. (July 1976). "Conceptual Graphs for a Data Base Interface" (PDF). IBM Journal of Research and Development. 20 (4): 336–357. doi:10.1147/rd.204.0336. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-07-13.
^"International Conferences on Conceptual Structures". Conceptual Structures. Retrieved 21 March 2017.