Bootstrapping is the act of self-creation, from nothing. The term derives from the ludicrous stunt of pulling oneself
up by one’s own bootstraps. Its shortened form, "booting," refers to the startup process in computers in which
the operating system is somehow activated via its operating system, that has not been activated. The absurd and
somewhat surrealistic quality of bootstrapping protocols serves as one of the most mysterious and fascinating
areas of science. As it happens, bootstrapping processes lie at the heart of some of the most powerful techniques
in data simplification.
It is worth taking the time to explore the philosophical and the pragmatic aspects of bootstrapping.
Starting from the beginning, how was the universe created? For believers, the universe was created by an
all-powerful deity. If this were so, then how was the all-powerful deity created? Was the deity self-created, or
did the deity simply bypass the act of creation altogether? The answers to these questions are left as an exercise
for the reader, but we can all agree that there had to be some kind of bootstrapping process, if something was
created from nothing. Otherwise, there would be no universe, and this essay would be much shorter than it is.
Getting back to our computers, how is it possible for any computer to boot its operating system, when we know
that the process of managing the startup process is one of the most important functions of the fully operational
operating system? Basically, at startup, the operating system is nonfunctional. A few primitive instructions
hardwired into the computer’s processors are sufficient to call forth a somewhat more complex process from
memory, and this newly activated process calls forth other processes, until the operating system is eventually
up and running. The cascading rebirth of active processes takes time, and explains why booting your computer
may seem to be a ridiculously slow process.
What is the relationship between bootstrapping and classification?
The ontologist creates a classification based on a worldview in which objects hold specific relationships with
other objects. Hence, the ontologist’s perception of the world is based on preexisting knowledge of the classification
of things; which presupposes that the classification already exists.
Paradoxically, you cannot build a
classification without first having the classification. How does an ontologist bootstrap a classification into existence?
She may begin with a small assumption that seems, to the best of her knowledge, unassailable. In the
case of the classification of living organisms, she may assume that the first organisms were primitive, consisting
of a few self-replicating molecules and some physiologic actions, confined to a small space, capable of a
self-sustaining system. Primitive viruses and prokaryotes (ie, bacteria) may have started the ball rolling. This
first assumption might lead to observations and deductions, which eventually yield the classification of living
organisms that we know today.
Every thoughtful ontologist will admit that a classification is, at its best, a
hypothesis-generating machine; not a factual representation of reality. We use the classification to create
new hypotheses about the world and about the classification itself. The process of testing hypotheses may reveal
that the classification is flawed; that our early assumptions were incorrect. More often, by testing hypotheses,
we reassure ourselves that our assumptions were consistent with new observations, adding to our understanding of the
relations between the classes and the instances within the classification.
- Jules Berman (copyrighted material)
key words: bootstrap, bootstrapping, classification, ontology, ontologist, data simplification, informatics, jules j berman
