EMPIRICAL EXPLORATIONS OF THE LOGIC THEORY MACHINE. A CASE STUDY IN HEURISTICS,

Abstract

The Logic Theory Machine is a program that discovers proofs for theorems in elementary symbolic logic. It does this, not by means of an algorithm (although such algorithms exist), but by using heuristic devices, such as a human does. It is being studied as part of a research effort directed toward understanding the processes involved in learning, problem-solving, recognizing patterns, etc. This paper presents the results of detailed explorations of the program on RAND's JOHNNIAC. It describes the program and evaluates the role of the various methods, and heuristics in contributing to the total problem solving capability of the machine. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 14, 1957
Accession Number
AD0422841

Entities

People

  • A. Newell
  • H. A. Simon
  • J. C. Shaw

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Case Studies
  • Computers
  • Computing Devices
  • Learning

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Computer Programming and Software Development.
  • Operations Research
  • Systems Analysis and Design