Logic versus Approximation: Essays Dedicated to Michael M. Richter on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday

Petr Hájek (auth.), Wolfgang Lenski (eds.)3540225625, 9783540225621, 9783540259671

Nowadays knowledge-based systems research and development essentially employs two paradigms of reasoning. There are on the one hand the logic-based approaches where logic is to be understood in a rather broad sense; usually these approaches are used in symbolic domains where numerical calculations are not the core challenge. On the other hand we find approximation oriented reasoning; methods of these kinds are mainly applied in numerical domains where approximation is part of the scientific methodology itself.

However, from an abstract level all these approaches do focus on similar topics and arise on various levels such as problem modeling, inference and problem solving techniques, algorithms and mathematical methods, mathematical relations between discrete and continuous properties, and are integrated in tools and applications. In accordance with the unifying vision and research interest of Michael M. Richter and in correspondence to his scientific work, this book presents 13 revised full papers advocating the integration of logic-based and approximation-oriented approaches in knowledge processing.

Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages –
A True Unprovable Formula of Fuzzy Predicate Logic….Pages 1-5
The Inherent Indistinguishability in Fuzzy Systems….Pages 6-17
On Models for Quantified Boolean Formulas….Pages 18-32
Polynomial Algorithms for MPSP Using Parametric Linear Programming….Pages 33-42
Discrete and Continuous Methods of Demography….Pages 43-58
Computer Science between Symbolic Representation and Open Construction….Pages 59-76
Towards a Theory of Information….Pages 77-105
Retrieval by Structure from Chemical Data Bases….Pages 106-119
Engineers Don’t Search….Pages 120-137
Randomized Search Heuristics as an Alternative to Exact Optimization….Pages 138-149
Approximation of Utility Functions by Learning Similarity Measures….Pages 150-172
Knowledge Sharing in Agile Software Teams….Pages 173-183
Logic and Approximation in Knowledge Based Systems….Pages 184-203
Back Matter….Pages –