[Rockhounds] Fw: SOFTWARE FOR INDENTIFYING MINERALS

[DonH]

Dennis Buffenmyer wrote:


>> Now think about taking Mindat to the next level. That is; adding an 
>> expert system. Why Mindat? Well, to me it's a great mineral database that is 
>> open to the expert and amateur world input. 

> I like the idea of starting with mindat in that pictures are worth a 
> thousand words, BUT, can be misleading. 


Greetings,

Dennis brings up an important point, in fact it is the heart of the 
matter.  The fact that mindat is open means that there are certain to be 
a lot of mistakes in it.  The biggest issue is the photo section, 
because anyone can post photos of minerals that may likely be 
mislabeled.  There is one recently retired dealer who was notorious for 
creative labeling; and since most of these were rare minerals, the 
customer has no way to check the ID using ordinary means.  Also, as 
technology has become more sophisticated and mineral names have changed, 
many old labels that were once correct are no longer valid, not through 
anyone's bad intention but simply because the information has changed.

The point of an expert system is that it is created and peer-reviewed by 
experts.  In the past I had submitted corrections to things people 
pointed out to me on mindat that they suspected were in error, and after 
some discusions with the creator of the site, he admitted that it was 
never intended to be what it has become.

It's a good starting point, but someone needs to validate each and every 
entry if that website would be a basis for an expert system.  Now who's 
going to bell that cat.

best regards,
Don