Categorial expert systems

Expert systems can be used to determine some objects or consequences from uncertain knowledge by hierarchical categorization. Categorical representation is psychologically motivated and also offers an explanation of how to deal with uncertain knowledge based on counting during approximate reasoning. It is an alternative to other well-known uncertainty calculi. A knowledge base which is used during approximate reasoning is represented by a taxonomical arrangement of verbal categories. Priming eases the formation of the final hypothesis, as more exact possible hypotheses are formed. The approximate reasoning is demonstrated on an expert system ‘Jurassic’ from the field of paleontology for the determination of a dinosaur species. It helps the paleontologist to determine creatures from uncertain knowledge. The system is composed of 423 rules arranged in a directed acyclic graph with a depth of 5. This knowledge is represented by a taxonomical arrangement of verbal categories represented by associative memories.