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    An Examination and Confirmation of a Macro Theory of Conversations
    through
    A Realization of the Protologic Lp by Microscopic Simulation

    A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    by
    Paul A Pangaro
    Department of Cybernetics, Brunel University
    May 1987


    [Notes: The following document constituted the prose portion of the dissertation without modification or updating, completed in 1987. The software portion, called THOUGHTSTICKER and running on Symbolics systems, is described in detail; however its software listings in LISP, which comprised a major element of the dissertation effort, are omitted. The work was never intended as a robust review of the related fields of AI and so forth; they were included in a skeletal critique to satisfy the academic requirements. Section III.3 to the end are the significant portions of the work. Unfortunately the production task of including figures, especially considering their tiny fonts, is cumbersome and they have not yet been added.

    THOUGHTSTICKER is described in a less formal context in a published account of its origins and features, and a marketing brochure.]


    Abstract
    Acknowledgments

    I. Preface

    I.1 Structure of the Dissertation
    I.2 A Context for AI and Cybernetics Terminologies

    II. Background

    II.1 A Context for Adopting Conversation Theory

    II.1.1 The Needs of Man-Machine Interaction

    II.2 Available Models before Conversation Theory

  • II.2.1 Shannon's "Information Theory"
  • II.2.2 Artificial Intelligence
  • II.3 Reasons for Adopting Conversation Theory

  • II.3.1 Symmetry across Individuals
  • II.3.2 Symmetry within Individuals
  • II.3.3 Subjectivity and Objectivity in the Same Framework
  • II.3.4 The Language of Conversation
  • II.3.5 Generality of "Individuals"
  • II.3.6 Cognitive Bases of CT
  • II.3.7 Mediation of Language by a "Knowledgebase"
  • II.4 The Emergence of this Thesis

    III. Review

    III.1 Knowledge-Based AI Systems

  • III.3.1 Semantic Nets
  • III.3.2 Frames
  • III.3.3 Expert Systems and Rules
  • III.2 Related Work in Cybernetics

  • III.2.1 Foundations
  • III.2.2 Laing
  • III.2.3 Personal Construct Theory
  • III.3 THOUGHTSTICKER and Computer-aided Instruction

  • III.3.1 Intelligent" Training
  • III.3.2 Background of the Term "THOUGHTSTICKER"
  • III.3.3 Existing Applications
  • III.3.4 The User Experience
  • III.3.5 Comparison to Computer-Aided Instruction
  • III.3.6 THOUGHTSTICKER's Training "Knowledgebase"
  • III.3.7 Aids to Authoring
  • III.4 Related Software Systems

  • III.4.1 Database Management Systems
  • III.4.2 "Thought Processors"
  • IV. Foundations of Conversation Theory

    V. Conversation Theory Software

  • V.1 The Birth of "THOUGHTSTICKER"
  • V.1.1 Raison d' THOUGHTSTICKER
  • V.1.2 Represent What?
  • V.1.3 Attempts at Knowledge Representation: "Expert Systemf
  • V.2 The origins of THOUGHTSTICKER
  • V.2.1 The Demands of Course Assembly
  • V.2.2 THOUGHTSTICKER Defined
  • V.2.3 THOUGHTSTICKER in its current forms
  • V.2.4 Lp at the Macro Level
  • V.2.5 Uses of THOUGHTSTICKER
  • V.3 Making Statements
  • V.3.1 Models, Topics and Relations
  • V.3.2 Instating Entailments
  • V.3.3 Coherence
  • V.3.4 Subjectivity of Statements
  • V.4 Contradiction Checking
  • V.4.1 Cases of Contradiction
  • V.4.2 Resolution of Conflict
  • V.4.3 To Resolve
  • V.5 Analogy
  • V.5.1 The Form of Analogy
  • V.5.2 The Relation of Analogy and Coherence
  • V.5.3 Analogy and Distributivity
  • V.5.6 Adding Coherent Relations: Saturation
  • V.5.7 Tutorial Aids
  • V.5.8 Implications of THOUGHTSTICKER
  • V.5.9 Many Authors Conversing
  • V.5.10 Personalized Vocabularies
  • VI. The Essence of Process: Micro Simulation of Lp

  • VI.1 Knowledge Representation Display
  • VI.2 Displays in THOUGHTSTICKER
  • VI.2.1 Experimental Software Facility
  • VI.2.2 Discussion of the Programming
  • VI.2.3 Coherence Displayed
  • VI.2.4 Animated Interpretations of Topic Relations
  • VI.2.5 Pruning Displayed
  • VI.2.6 Contradiction Displayed
  • VI.3 Conflict Terminology: Ambiguity and Contradiction
  • VI.4 The Activation of Analogy versus Coherence
  • VI.5 "Forces" Model
  • VI.5.1 Movement toward Micro Modelling
  • VI.5.2 Basic Force Calculations
  • VI.5.3 Linear and Squares Result
  • VI.5.4 Prune Case
  • VI.6 Discussion of Results
  • VI.6.1 Basic Contradiction Detection: Full Genoa
  • VI.6.2 Subset
  • VI.6.3 Ambiguous contradiction: Partial Genoa
  • VII. Conclusions and Summary

  • VII.1 Lp Software at the Macro Level
  • VII.2 Macro theory and Micro confirmation
  • VII.3 Extensions to the Work
  • VII.3.1 Dimensional Control
  • VII.3.2 Cognitive Force Values
  • VII.3.3 Pruning and Resolution
  • VII.3.4 New Hardware


  • © Copyright Paul Pangaro 1998. All Rights Reserved.