Chapter 3. Entity Matching

In my set of outdoor tools, I have a large hand axe that I have always called a mattock. But my friend from the western United States calls it a Pulaski. When he asks me to hand him the Pulaski, it always gives me a moment of pause. Sometimes, we might know a thing by more than one name, or two things might share the same name, which can lead to confusion. This happens with people all the time. Have you ever been mistaken for someone else who shares your same first and last name? Have you ever used a nickname or an alias? In a children's playground, 10 women might turn around when they hear a child call out Mom! A man who always goes by the name Bob would be immediately suspicious when an unfamiliar telephone caller asks to speak with Robert. A pharmacy technician gives John T. Smith the medicine intended for John M. Smith, leading to disastrous results.

In this chapter, we are concerned with the accurate identification of entities, or things, and...