Dear Matthew,  (01)
JFS
> But all the subcontractors come with their own models (usually
> mental): plumbers, electricians, carpenters, landscapers, excavators, etc.  (02) 
> [MW>] Yes. You are left with a number of options, including:
> - give up, it's just too difficult (but then pay for the resulting
> mistakes)
> - make them conform to your ontology (it's part of the contract,
> so they don't get paid till they do)
> - allow them to use their ontology (and probably help them discover it)
> and then map the result to your own.  (03) 
Option 1 is rare. Options 2 and 3 are the most common.  (04)
But the saving grace is that most of the details don't matter.
Plumbers and electricians need to agree on how to keep their
wires and pipes separate. But they may use different methods
for representing or reasoning about details that the other
group(s) can safely ignore.  (05)
John  (06)
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