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AIList Digest Volume 2 Issue 085
AIList Digest Wednesday, 4 Jul 1984 Volume 2 : Issue 85
Today's Topics:
Education - Request,
AI Tools - Interlisp under UNIX & Common Lisp,
Numerical Analysis - Best Fitting Curve,
Games - War Games,
Humor - Mongooses & Man, Bytes, Dog,
Seminar - Analogy in Legal Reasoning
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 84 14:39:45 pdt
From: cjet%ucbamber.CC@Berkeley
Subject: Request for Participation in Education
ANNOUNCING
----------
The opening in September 1984 of a Model School which will develop
new ways to use computers in education for use throughout the Berkeley Uni-
fied School District, the state, and the nation. The District seeks colla-
boration with persons, firms, research organizations, universities, and
others interested in the leading edge of technology in the schools.
FEATURING
---------
* Computer workstations on local area networks
* Many workstations per classroom
* Computers used to teach regular curriculum
* Computers used for classroom and school administration
* Total Integration, including persons with physical and mental
disabilities in the classroom
* Collaboration by prominent members of business and faculty from
the University of California at Berkeley toward curriculum design
and technology integration
* A site for research, development and demonstration of effective
use of educational technology
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
-----------------------
We desire information about advanced hardware or software systems that
could be acquired for use in the Model School. In addition to computers,
courseware, and networks, the District is interested in peripherals that
address the needs of younger children and children with disabilities, such
as special keyboards, graphic displays, voice synthesisers, etc.
The Berkeley Unified School District is investing substantial funds in the
school, staff and technology. We seek collaboration, sponsorship, assis-
tance and state-of-the-art products. People of many disciplines, skills and
viewpoints are working together to make major advances. We invite you to
explore fuller involvement and/or participation in any of the major aspects
of this exciting project. Please contact us at cjet@amber@berkeley or call
(415) 527-9030.
Eric Novikoff, C-JET
This flyer is being sent by the Center for Jobs Education
and Technology, the non-profit corporation which is the technology
consultant for the Berkeley School District's Model School Project.
------------------------------
Date: 29 Jun 84 12:51:23-PDT (Fri)
From: hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!noscvax!goodhart @ Ucb-Vax.arpa
Subject: Re: Interlisp under UNIX?
Article-I.D.: noscvax.532
Information Sciences Institute (ISI) provides INTERLISP for VAX computers
running either the UNIX or VMS operating systems. For further information
call ISI at (213) 822-1511.
------------------------------
Date: 2 Jul 1984 1322-EDT
From: WHOLEY at CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Subject: Common Lisp
[Forwarded from the CMU bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
First of all, there's a CLISP BBoard (C for Common) that things like this
should probably be discussed on. Since a number of questions were asked in
this forum [CMU bboard], I'll answer them in this forum.
1. DEC is supposedly either doing or planning to do ("real soon now") a port of
DEC Common Lisp to Unix.
2. I'd be wary of any "compatibility" package for Common Lisp in Franz. There
are a number of complicated Common Lisp features that are somewhat difficult to
implement from the ground up, and I doubt that a "compatability" package can
accurately capture enough to make large Common Lisp programs run. Such
features include (but are not limited to):
The package system, which provides one with separate namespaces,
Lexical scoping of variables (upward and downward "funargs"),
Multiple value returns from functions,
Arrays with fill pointers, adjustable arrays, and displaced arrays.
3. Golden Common Lisp from Gold Hill Computers is a subset of Common Lisp for
the IBM PC. It is intended more as a teaching tool than a full Common Lisp
programming environment, although one could certainly write useful programs in
it (much as one can write useful programs in BASIC). It is certainly the
finest microcomputer Lisp around.
------------------------------
Date: 28 Jun 84 8:24:45-PDT (Thu)
From: hplabs!hao!seismo!brl-tgr!brl-vgr!gwyn @ Ucb-Vax.arpa
Subject: Re: Best fitting curve - 3 points
Article-I.D.: brl-vgr.418
Usually the correct approach is to take the parameterized curve that
is expected by theory to pass through the data and do a weighted (by
inverse error squared) least squares fit (i.e. determine the values
of the parameters that minimizes the weighted sum of the squares of
the deviations of the known data points from the curve). One method
that works well is the Marquardt gradient-expansion technique described
in Bevington's "Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical
Sciences". Of course this assumes that you HAVE a theory...
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 84 22:44:12 EDT
From: Michael_D'Alessandro%Wayne-MTS%UMich-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: War Games
Although this is a late response to Chuck McManis' request for
information on wargames, I thought I'd pass this along:
There are many microcomputer wargames available today. The majority
of them are produced by Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI). SSI's
games are very similar to Avalon Hill's games, and cover topics
such as The Civil War, WWII (D-Day, North Africa, Sink the Bismark,
Battle of Britian, etc), and modern day hypothetical combat. All
these games are realistic (they use accurate orders of battle for
both sides) and quite playable. These games can be played by two
people, or you can play against the computer. Unfortunately, while
playing these games may help you get a "feel" for computer war
games, they won't help you write one since you can't look at the
programs - they are locked up. SSI's games are available for almost
all microcomputers, with the selection for the Apple II family
having the most games. Go to a local computer store to see them.
One wargame that stands out from all others is "Eastern Front" by
Chris Crawford for the Atari 400/600/800. In addition to buying
Eastern Front, you can buy a documented 6502 source code listing of
the program, along with a booklet that Chris wrote describing how
he implemented the program, and the various combat and movement
routines he used. The program also has a
little rudimentary "AI" in it - when you play against
the computer the computer is quite a formidable
opponent, and Chris describes his "AI" routines in
detail. Chris is one of the premier computer war games
designers in the country. To see this, you might check
a local computer store, or a local Atari User Group.
Eastern Front was originally available via the "Atari
Program Exchange" run by Atari, but since Atari has
just been sold to Jack Tramiel, the Atari Program
Exchange may no longer exist.
Michael_D'Alessandro%Wayne.MTS%Umich.MTS.Mailnet@MIT-Multics.ARPA
------------------------------
Date: 04 Jul 84 0027 PDT
From: Don Woods <DON@SU-AI.ARPA>
Subject: re: mongice
[Forwarded from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI. This is the tail
end of a discussion about the plural of mongoose (mongooses).]
[...]
I'm also reminded of Walt "Pogo" Kelly's observation that "the mongoose is a
singular beast because nobody can pronounce two of them."
------------------------------
Date: 02 Jul 84 1532 PDT
From: Frank Yellin <FY@SU-AI.ARPA>
Subject: From the New Yorker: Man, Bytes, Dog :-)
[Forwarded from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
From the New Yorker
July 2, 1984
MAN, BYTES, DOG
Many people have asked me about the Cairn Terrier. How about memory, they want
to know. Is it IBM-compatible? Why didn't I get the IBM itself, or a Kaypro,
Compaq, or Macintosh? I think the best way to answer these questions is to
look at th Macintosh and the Cairn head on. I almost did buy the Macintosh.
It has terrific graphics, good word-processing capabilities, and the mouse.
But in the end I decided on the Cairn, and I think I made the right decision.
Let's start out with the basics:
Macintosh:
Weight (without printer): 20lbs.
Memory (RAM): 128K
Price (with printer): $3,090
Cairn Terrier:
Weight (without printer): 14lbs.
Memory (RAM): Some
Price (without printer): $250
Just on the basis of price and weight, the choice is obvious. Another plus is
that the Cairn Terrier comes in one unit. No printer is necessary, or useful.
And--this was a big attraction to me--there is no user's manual.
Here are some of the other qualities I found put the Cairn out ahead of the
Macintosh:
PORTABILITY: To give you a better idea of size, Toto in "The Wizard of Oz" was
a Cairn Terrier. So you can see that if the young Judy Garland was able to
carry Toto around in that little picnic basket, you will have no trouble at all
moving your Cairn from place to place. For short trips it will move under its
own power. The Macintosh will not.
RELIABILITY: In five to ten years, I am sure, the Macintosh will be superseded
by a new model, like the Delicious or the Granny Smith. The Cairn Terrier, on
the other hand, has held its share of the market with only minor modifications
for hundreds of years. In the short term, Cairns seldom require servicing,
apart from shots and the odd worming, and most function without interruption
during electric storms.
COMPATIBILITY: Cairn Terriers get along with everyone. And for communications
with any other dog, of any breed, within a radius of three miles, no additional
software is necessary. All dogs share a common operating system.
SOFTWARE: The Cairn will run three standard programs, SIT, COME, and NO, and
whatever else you create. It is true that, being a microcanine, the Cairn is
limited here, but it does load the programs simultaneously. No disk drives.
No tapes.
Admittedly, these are peripheral advantages. The real comparison has to be on
the basis of capabilities. What can the Macintosh and the Cairn do? Let's
start on the Macintosh's turf--income-tax preparation, recipe storage,
graphics, and astrophysics problems:
-------------------------------------------------------------
| Taxes Recipes Graphics Astrophysics |
| Macintosh yes yes yes yes |
| Cairn no no no no |
-------------------------------------------------------------
At first glance it looks bad for the Cairn. But it's important to look beneath
the surface with this kind of chart. If you yourself are leaning toward the
Macintosh, ask yourself these questions: Do you want to do your own income
taxes? Do you want to type all your recipes into a computer? In your graph,
what would you put on the $x$ axis? The $y$ axis? Do you have any
astrophysics problems you want solved?
Then consider the Cairn's specialties: playing fetch and tug-of-war, licking
your face, and chasing foxes out of rock cairns (eponymously). Note that no
software is necessary. All these functions are part of the operating system.
----------------------------------------------------
| Fetch Tug-of-War Face Foxes |
| Cairn yes yes yes yes |
| Macintosh no no no no |
----------------------------------------------------
Another point to keep in mind is that computers, even the Macintosh, only do
what you tell them to do. Cairns perform their functions all on their own.
Here are some of the additional capabilities that I discovered once I got
the Cairn home and house-broken:
WORD PROCESSING: Remarkably, the Cairn seems to understand every word I say.
He has a nice way of pricking up his ears at words like "out" and "ball." He
also has highly tuned voice-recognition.
EDUCATION: The Cairn provides children with hands-on experience at an early
age, contribution to social interaction, crawling ability, and language skills.
At age one, my daughter could say "Sit," "Come," and "No."
CLEANING: This function was a pleasant surprise. But of course cleaning up
around the cave is one of the reasons dogs were developed in the first place.
Users with young (below age two) children will still find this function useful.
The Cairn Terrier cleans the floor, spoons, bib, and baby, and has the unerring
ability to distinguish strained peas from ears, nose, and fingers.
PSYCHOTHERAPY: Hear the Cairn really shines. And remember, therapy is
something that computers have tried. There is a program that makes the
computer ask you questions when you tell it your problems. You say "I'm afraid
of foxes." The computer says, "You're afraid of foxes?"
The Cairn won't give you that kind of echo. Like Freudian analysts, Cairns are
mercifully silent; unlike Freudians, they are infinitely sympathetic. I've
found that the Cairn will share, in a nonjudgmental fashion, disappointments,
joys, and frustrations. And you don't have to know BASIC.
This last capability is related to the Cairn's strongest point, which was the
final deciding factor in my decision against the Macintosh--user-friendliness.
On this criterion, there is simply no comparison. The Cairn Terrier is the
essence of user-friendliness. It has fur, it doesn't flicker when you look at
it, and it wags its tail.
-- James Gorman
------------------------------
Date: 2 Jul 84 20:04:53 EDT
From: Smadar <KEDAR-CABELLI@RUTGERS.ARPA>
Subject: Ph.D. Oral - Analogy in Legal Reasoning
[Forwarded from the Rutgers bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
A Ph.D. Oral Examination - Proposal Defense
Title: Analogy with Purpose in Legal Reasoning from Precedents
Speaker: Smadar Kedar-Cabelli
Date: Friday, July 6, 1984, 10:00 - 11:00 am
Location: Hill Center, room 423
Open to DCS Faculty and Students
One open problem in current artificial intelligence (AI) models of
learning and reasoning by analogy is: which aspects of the analogous
situations are relevant to the analogy, and which are irrelevant? It
is currently recognized that analogy involves mapping some underlying
causal network of relations between situations [Winston 82], [Gentner
83], [Burstein 83], [Carbonell 83]. However, most current models of
analogy provide the system with exactly the relevant relations,
tailor-made to each analogy to be performed. As AI systems become more
complex, we will have to provide them with the capability of
automatically focusing on the relevant aspects of situations when
reasoning analogically. These will have to be sifted from the large
amount of information used to represent complex, real-world situations.
In order to study these general issues, we are examining a
particular case study of learning and reasoning by analogy: forming
legal concepts by legal reasoning from precedents. This is studied
within the TAXMAN II project, which is investigating legal reasoning
using AI techniques [McCarty 82], [Nagel 83].
In this talk, we will discuss the problem and a proposed solution.
We examine legal reasoning from precedents within the context of
current AI models of analogy. We then add a focusing capability.
Current work on goal-directed learning [Mitchell 83a], [Mitchell 83b],
and explanation-based learning [Dejong 83] applies here: the
explanation of how the precedent satisfies the intent of the law (i.e.
its goals, or purposes) helps to automatically focus the reasoning on
what is relevant.
Intuitively, suppose a lawyer wishes to argue that a particular case
involving a bicycle violated the following statute: 'a vehicle is
forbidden in a public park' [Hart 58]. He might argue by analogy to a
clear precedent--a passenger car. He needs to establish that a bicycle
is a vehicle for the purposes of this statute, that bicycles should be
banned from the park for the same reasons that passenger cars are. The
purpose, or intent of the law is to prohibit those things that would
interfere with the serene, quiet setting of the park, or would destroy
the natural habitat, and so on. Reasoning from this, the lawyer can
determine that aspects of the cases such as the ability to trample over
lawns, run over small animals, make noise, are relevant for this
purpose. On the other hand, aspects of the cases involving the country
where the vehicles were manufactured, or the materials the vehicles are
made of, are irrelevant for this purpose. Given a different law and
purpose, these might well be relevant.
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End of AIList Digest
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