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What is a knowledge graph and how does it differ from a taxonomy?

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Drawn from Lutz Finger's Forbes column, LinkedIn writing, and Cornell teaching. Sources are cited inline so you can read the originals.

Knowledge graphs connect concepts across dimensions, unlike simple taxonomies.

A knowledge graph is a collection of facts interconnected in a network, storing information as concepts rather than just labels or numbers. It works like a smarter database that imitates human memory. A taxonomy is much simpler, focusing on one characteristic like what kind of thing something is. Elephants are mammals in a taxonomy. But you cannot relate entities of different types. A knowledge graph lets you express that leopards eat gazelles or elephants eat bamboo, connecting different taxonomies together. It is essentially a multi-dimensional, supercharged taxonomy approach.

The synergy between LLMs and knowledge graphs · The Edge


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