STUDENT turns word problems into equations

A restricted English interface translated algebra story problems into equations and solved for unknowns.

Daniel G. Bobrow

AI topics

Explore related entries. Larger tags appear on more entries.

The contribution

STUDENT transformed supported sentences into simultaneous equations. It could use stored general information, disclose assumptions, and ask for additional information when a problem could not be solved. This connected language interpretation with an explicit mathematical representation and a separate solution procedure.

What this does not establish

The input language and problem types were restricted. The system did not demonstrate general mathematical reasoning from arbitrary prose.

Why this date?

1964 dates the original report. SHRDLU reference 3 uses a 1964 label while citing the later chapter in the 1968 collection Semantic Information Processing.

This entry follows the linked publication. Read the source and date conventions.

The original work

Natural Language Input for a Computer Problem Solving System

Authors: Daniel G. Bobrow
Publication: MIT, AI-TR-219
Source type: Thesis / research report

The links above support the description and dating of this entry. Full text may be open or publisher-restricted.

Cited By

Atlas entries whose reference lists cite this work or the publication version noted below.

ELIZA: A computer program for the study of natural language communication between man and machine (1966)
Listed in the source bibliography. Check the reference list.
Semantic Memory (1966)
The 1966 bibliography cites Bobrow's 1964 dissertation and Project MAC report. Check the reference list.
Computer Solution of Calculus Word Problems (1969)
Listed in the source bibliography. Check the reference list.
Procedures as a Representation for Data in a Computer Program for Understanding Natural Language (1971)
Reference 3 cites the chapter version under a 1964 label; this entry dates the original report. Check the reference list.

Citations

Works in the Atlas cited by this entry.

SIR: A Computer Program for Semantic Information Retrieval (1964)
Listed in the source bibliography. Check the reference list.

Bibliography coverage: Reference section indexed. Open the source.

Scanned bibliography pages processed with Windows OCR. The readable citation metadata was checked against the images and OCR; raw OCR is retained with page numbers and hashes. Spelling and source-publication inconsistencies may remain. Only reviewed Atlas matches become citation links.

Read the indexed bibliography

Bibliography (PDF pages 123, 124, 125, 126)

1. Berkeley, E.C. and D.G. Bobrow (eds.). The Programming Language LISP: Its Operation and Applications. Information International, 1964. 2. Black, F. A Deductive Question-Answering System. Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, 1964. 3. Bobrow, D.G. METEOR: A LISP Interpreter for String Transformations. In reference 1. 4. Bobrow, D.G. Syntactic Analysis of English by Computer: A Survey. Proceedings FJCC, 1963. 5. Bobrow, D.G. and B. Raphael. A Comparison of List-Processing Computer Languages. Communications of the ACM, April 1964. 6. Bobrow, D.G. and J. Weizenbaum. List Processing and the Extension of Language Facility by Embedding. Transactions IEEE PGEC, August 1964. 7. Chomsky, A.N. On the Notion Rule of Grammar. Proceedings of the Symposium in Applied Mathematics, volume 12. 8. Chomsky, A.N. Syntactic Structures. Mouton, 1957. 9. Coffman, E.G., J.I. Schwartz and C. Weissman. A General-Purpose Time-Sharing System. Proceedings SJCC, April 1964. 10. Cohen, D. Picture Processing in a Picture Language Machine. NBS Report 7885, April 1963. 11. Coleman, M. A Program to Solve High School Algebra Story Problems. MIT term paper for 6.539, 1964. 12. Cooper, W.S. Fact Retrieval and Deductive Question Answering. JACM 11(2), April 1964. 13. Corbato, F.J. et al. The Compatible Time-Sharing System. MIT Press, 1963. 14. Darlington, J. Translating Ordinary Language into Symbolic Logic. Memo MAC-M-149, MIT, March 1964. 15. Feigenbaum, E. The Simulation of Verbal Learning Behaviour. In reference 16. 16. Feigenbaum, E. and J. Feldman (eds.). Computers and Thought. McGraw Hill, 1963. 17. Feldman, J. Simulation of Behaviour in the Binary Choice Experiment. In reference 16. 18. Garfinkle, S. Heuristic Solution of First Year Algebra Problems. Working Paper 11, Management Science Group, University of California, Berkeley, 1962. 19. Green, B.F., A.K. Wolf, C. Chomsky and K. Laughery. Baseball: An Automatic Question Answerer. Proceedings WJCC, May 1961. 20. Harris, Z. Discourse Analysis. Language 28(1), January-March 1952. 21. Harris, Z. String Analysis of Sentence Structure. Mouton, 1962. 22. Kirsch, R.A. and B.K. Rankin III. Modified Simple Phrase Structure Grammar for Grammatical Induction. NBS Report 7890, 1963. 23. Klein, S. and R.F. Simmons. Syntactic Dependence and the Computer Generation of Coherent Discourse. Mechanical Translation, 1963. 24. Kuck, D. A Problem Solving System with Natural Language Input. Ph.D. thesis, Northwestern University, 1963. 25. Kuno, S. and A. Oettinger. Syntactic Structure and Ambiguity of English. Proceedings FJCC, November 1963. 26. Lamb, S.M. Outline of Stratificational Grammar. University of California, Berkeley, 1962. 27. Lehman, W.P. and E.D. Pendergraft. Machine Language Translation Study No. 16. Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, June 1963. 28. Lindsay, R.K. Inferential Memory as the Basis of Machines which Understand Natural Language. In reference 16. 29. Mathews, G.H. Analysis by Synthesis of Sentences in a Natural Language. First International Conference on Machine Translation and Applied Language Analysis, HMSO, 1962. 30. McCarthy, J. Programs With Common Sense. Symposium on Mechanization of Thought Processes, HMSO, 1959. 31. McCarthy, J. et al. LISP 1.5 Programmers Manual. MIT Press, 1963. 32. Minsky, M. Steps Toward Artificial Intelligence. In reference 16. 33. Morris, C.W. Foundations of the Theory of Signs. International Encyclopedia of Unified Science 1(2), University of Chicago Press, 1955. 34. Newell, A. et al. Report on a General Problem Solving System. International Conference on Information Processing, UNESCO House, Paris, 1959. 35. Ogden, C.K. A System of Basic English. Harcourt-Brace, 1934. 36. Phillips, A.V. A Question-Answering Routine. Master's thesis, MIT Mathematics Department, 1960. 37. Quine, W.V. Word and Object. MIT Press, 1960. 38. Raphael, B. SIR: A Computer Program for Semantic Information Retrieval. Ph.D. thesis, MIT Mathematics Department, 1964. 39. Sillars, W. An Algorithm for Representing English Sentences in a Formal Language. NBS Report 7884, April 1963. 40. Simmons, R.F. Answering English Questions by Computer: A Survey. SDC Report SP-1556, April 1964. 41. Simmons, R.F., S. Klein and K.L. McConlogue. Indexing and Dependence Logic for Answering English Questions. American Documentation, in press. 42. Skinner, B.F. Verbal Behaviour. Appleton Century Croft, 1957. 43. Walker, D.E. and J.M. Bartlett. The Structure of Language for Man and Computers: Problems in Formalization. First Congress on the Information Sciences, Vista Press, 1963. 44. Yngve, V. A Model and an Hypothesis for Language Structure. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 104(5), 1960. 45. Yngve, V. COMIT Programmers Reference Manual. MIT Press, 1961. 46. Yngve, V. Random Generation of English Sentences. Proceedings 1961 International Conference on Machine Translation and Applied Language Analysis 1, HMSO, 1962.

Download the bibliography index · Download Atlas citation links

These links cover verified matches within the Atlas. They are not total scholarly citation counts. A citation alone does not establish that the later system implements the same method.

AI topics

The contribution

What this does not establish

Why this date?

Comments