Great story, Gil.
One thing I like about Tractions ability to *add* categories
to an information node is that it makes it possible to
reframe points in a discussion from a different point.
For example, in yesterday's meeting, Jim Hurd asked a question,
wondering if the system we are designing had any capacity for
"modular reuse" -- creating "information components" that could
be reused in different contexts.
I reframed that question as an "optional requirement" for the
system. (A nice-to-have, rather than a must-have, but something
to keep in mind.)
In the traction system, that would be tantamount to creating
a tag (e.g. requirement:optional) -- or reusing an existing tag
that achieved the same purpose -- and applying it to that
"paragraph" in the system.
The "requirements document" would then reflect that addition.
--or at least the version of it that included all proposed
requirements that surfaced during the course of our discussions.
Traction's audit trail would also reflect the fact that I added
a category and the fact that a node was tagged with it. It would
also allow the category to be changed, providing a mechanism to
determine which existing nodes should reflect the change.
All of these functions seem to me to be the manifestly *right*
way to think about categories.
As for my earlier assertion that categorization may in some small
way represent "knowledge", I categorically retract that assertion.
It is now clear to me that I have absolutely no idea what on earth
"knowledge" could possibly be, and that I have neither the background
nor inclination to work on a "knowledge repository" at this time.
Maybe in the future. For now, my only interest is in an "OHS".
My take on the matter at the moment is that any discussion of
"knowledge" leads to a surpassingly deep ocean of uncharted waters.
My goal at the moment is to build a boat that will work in the tide
pools -- an OHS.
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