SUO: RE: CYC event vs. SUMO Process -- really different?

[Richard Cooper <rich@valutech.com>]

Title: RE: CYC event vs. SUMO Process -- really different?

Patrick Cassidy wrote:

[snip]
> > However, in OpenCyc, while I can say
> >
> >         (#$objectFoundInLocation #$MySwissArmyKnife #$MyLivingRoom)
> >
> > I cannot say
> >
> >         (#$objectFoundInLocation
> &$MikeReprogramsHisVCROnJune102003 #$MyLivingRoom)
> >
> > or even:
> >
> >         (#$inRegion &$MikeReprogramsHisVCROnJune102003
> #$MyLivingRoom)
> >
> > because #$MikeReprogramsHisVCROnJune102003 is not an
> instance of #$SpatialThing or #$SpatialThing-Localized.
> >
> > In OpenCyc one uses a different predicate, #$eventOccursAt,
> to relate events to the places at
>  > which they occur, but it is neither a generalization nor a
> specialization of the predicates
>  > used to specify relative spatial positions of physical objects,
> i.e., #$inRegion and its
>  > specializations.  Events or processes are not located in the same
> way that physical objects are
>  > in OpenCyc; they are in SUMO.
>

Not having learned the complexities of OpenCyc or SUMO, it
seems bad design to either

1. Require events to occur at locations (in regions) because
   there are events that are not spatial at all, e.g.,
   "what if Bob thought about Mary's birthday party?"
   is a hypothetical, with no spatial relationships at all.
   It shouldn't be necessary to represent this in any
   spatial way. 

or

2. Make the mathematics of temporal logic unavailable to
   any class of events, whether spatial or nonspatial in
   description. 

Something seems wrong in this example.

HTH,
Rich