Journal

Volume 6, Issue 1 (January 31, 2005)

4 articles

• Defining Structural Similarity
  by Dedre Gentner & Arthur B. Markman
  J. CS. 2005, 6(1), 1-20;
  Abstract There is general agreement that structural similarity?a match in relational structure?is crucial in analogical processing. However, theories differ in their definitions of structural similarity: in particular, in whether there must be conceptual similarity between the relations in the two domains or... [Read more].
  Abstract There is general agreement that structural similarity?a match in relational structure?is crucial in analogical processing. However, theories differ in their definitions of structural similarity: in particular, in whether there must be conceptual similarity between the relations in the two domains or whether parallel graph structure is sufficient. In two studies, we demonstrate, first, that people draw analogical correspondences based on matches in conceptual relations, rather than on purely structural graph matches; and, second, that people draw analogical inferences between passages that have matching conceptual relations, but not between passages with purely structural graph matches. [Collapse]
• Modelling the Mapping Mechanism in Metaphors
  by Presley A. Ifukor
  J. CS. 2005, 6(1), 21-44;
  Abstract Human thought and reasoning is replete with analogies: from the use of metaphor in everyday speech to the association of ideas that inspires a new theory. It has long been a dream of researchers in artificial intelligence to build a computer program that uses analogy, so that we may better understan... [Read more].
  Abstract Human thought and reasoning is replete with analogies: from the use of metaphor in everyday speech to the association of ideas that inspires a new theory. It has long been a dream of researchers in artificial intelligence to build a computer program that uses analogy, so that we may better understand how human analogical reasoning is possible, and so we can apply it to solve technological problems. - Alan Bundy (Owen, 1990: Foreword)
  This paper examines some current issues in the syntax and semantics of metaphor and analogy. Theories of metaphoric alignment, structure-mapping and an anti-unification algorithm for tracking several kinds of metaphors are explored. [Collapse]
• Generative Grammar and Modern Cognitive Science
  by Cedric Boeckx
  J. CS. 2005, 6(1), 45-54;
  Abstract Generative Grammar (GG) emerged in the mid-1950s at the confluence of (i) the revival of and renewed appreciation for insights from the ‘first cognitive revolution’ that took place in the (extended) Cartesian era (17th-18th centuries), (ii) the solidification of the scientific study of behavioral in... [Read more].
  Abstract Generative Grammar (GG) emerged in the mid-1950s at the confluence of (i) the revival of and renewed appreciation for insights from the ‘first cognitive revolution’ that took place in the (extended) Cartesian era (17th-18th centuries), (ii) the solidification of the scientific study of behavioral instincts (ethology), (iii) progress in the domain of computation (nature of algorithms and characterization of notions like infinity, etc.), and (iv) dissatisfaction with the then dominant behaviorist paradigm in psychology, which took external behavior not as evidence for what goes on inside, but as the basic limit of inquiry. Chomsky’s early work contributed to all four strands of research that constitute the conceptual underpinnings of GG (see Chomsky 1955, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1966). [Collapse]
• Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution: A Case of L2 Learners
  by Hamideh Marefat & Musa Nushi
  J. CS. 2005, 6(1), 55-71;
  Abstract A self-paced reading technique examined the processing strategies adult Persian L2 learners of English adopt when tackling sentences containing temporary noun phrase/sentential complement ambiguity. In this study, verb type (NP-biased vs. S-biased) and complement type (NP-complement vs. Scomplement ... [Read more].
  Abstract A self-paced reading technique examined the processing strategies adult Persian L2 learners of English adopt when tackling sentences containing temporary noun phrase/sentential complement ambiguity. In this study, verb type (NP-biased vs. S-biased) and complement type (NP-complement vs. Scomplement vs. that-clause complement) were manipulated, i.e. barring thatclause complement, the noun phrase following these verbs was ambiguous between the object of the preceding verb and the subject of the following sentence complement. The purpose was to see whether L2 learners used verbbased information as proposed by constraint-based model or only certain principles of computational economy such as minimal attachment favored by garden-path model in their processing of such sentences. The results indicated that sentences in which the NP followed either of the verb types were read measurably faster than those in which S-complement or that-clause followed these verbs, thus providing evidence that largely confirmed the claims of the garden-path model. [Collapse]