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Knowledge representation PDF

342 Pages·1999·139.589 MB·English
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Knowledge Representation Copyrighted Material Copyrighted Material Knowledge Representation Arthur B. Markman University of Texas at Austin LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 1999 Mahwah, New Jersey London Copyrighted Material Copyright © 1999 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the pub lisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, NJ 07430 Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Cover artwork, "Reptiles," by M.e. Escher. © 1998 Cordon Art B.V -Baarn -Holland. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Markman, Arthur B. Knowledge representation / Arthur B. Markman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-8058-2440-5 (hardcover : alk. paper). - ISBN 0-8058-2441-3 (pbk.: alk. paper). I. Mental representation. 2. Intellect. 3. Thought and thinking. 4. Cognitive science. I. Title. BF316.6.M37 1998 I 53--dc2 I 98-19006 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10987654321 Copyrighted Material To Betsy Copyrighted Material Copyrighted Material Contents Preface IX 1 Foundations 1 2 Spatial Representations: What Do We Mean by Space? 27 3 Featural Representations 59 4 Network Models 89 5 Structured Representations 118 6 Structure in Perceptual Representations 154 7 Structured Concept Representations 188 8 General and Specific Information in Representations 217 9 Mental Models 248 10 Using Representation 277 vii Copyrighted Material viii CONTENTS References 301 Author Index 317 Subject Index 323 Copyrighted Material Preface At first glance, calling this book Knowledge Representation seems to remove all suspense as to what it is about, but actually I think it heightens the tension. Cognitive scientists have seldom agreed about what knowledge representation is (or even whether there really are representations). Fur thermore, many people have their own favorite way to think about knowl edge representation and regard anyone who thinks otherwise with guarded skepticism. As I wrote it, I thought of this book as a Michelin guide to knowledge representation. (I would call it a Fodor's guide, but there seems to be a Fodor who has had a few things to say about knowledge representation and who has apparently written his own guide.) The typical travel guide presents an overview of a city, country, or region. It defines boundaries, describes languages and currencies, and mentions museums, monuments, and other sights. The descriptions are never as rich as the sights themselves (or people would never travel). Invariably, there are suggestions of things to see that you would not have considered, and sights your mother's best friend said not to miss that are not even in the guidebook. I hope that this book serves as a good guide as well. In chapter 1, I define representation and discuss some foundational issues. Then, in chap ters 2 to 7, I discuss kinds of representations (akin to regions of a country), ways that people have thought about representations in the context of psychological, computational, or linguistic models. By organizing the book around types of representations, I have tried to bring together things that I think are deeply similar, although investigators may traditionally not have considered them to be similar. Chapters 8 and 9 focus on the role of ix Copyrighted Material

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