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Cyc 101 Tutorial

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The Cyc 101 Tutorial is a self-paced online course that introduces the learner to Cyc concepts, such as representing knowledge in a Cyc Knowledge Base and creating Cyc-based applications. Each lesson takes 10-20 minutes to complete and is made up of slides containing speaker notes that roughly parallel what an instructor would say if these slides were presented in a classroom. The bottom of each slide contains links to related resources, including related lessons, related sections of the OpenCyc OE Handbook, and entries in the glossary and the vocabulary pages.

Get to the lesson format of your choice by clicking the appropriate link:

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If you choose to view the lesson in your browser, navigate between slides by clicking on the left and right arrows at in the center of the bottom of the screen. Click on the icon in the lower right corner of the screen to view as "Full Screen Slide Show". Once in this view, right-click to navigate between slides or return to previous view.

Tutorial Contents

Expand Outline | Collapse Outline

	KB Browser Interface Overview
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Interface Overview
	Foundations of Knowledge Representation in Cyc
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Why Use Logic?
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] CycL Syntax
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Collections and Individuals
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Microtheories
	Predicates and Denotational Functions
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] The Basics
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Arity
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Argument Types
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Second-order Predicates
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] More On Functions
	Errors in Representing Knowledge
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Errors with Constants, Variables and Reliance on NL
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Errors with Specialization, Generalization & Rules
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Other Errors
	Survey of Knowledge Base Content
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Introduction
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Fundamental ExpressionTypes
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Top Level Collections
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Time and Dates
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Spatial Properties and Relations
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Event Types
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Information
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] More Content Areas
	OE Example: Events and Roles
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Events in Cyc
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Roles and Event Predicates
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Actor Slots
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Sub-events
	Writing Efficient CycL: Some Concrete Suggestions
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Writing Efficient CycL: Part 1
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Writing Efficient CycL: Part 2
	Inference in Cyc
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Logical Aspects of Inference
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Incompleteness in Searching
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Incompleteness from Resource Bounds and Continuable Searches
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Efficiency Through Heuristics
		[ pdf ] [ zip ] Inference Features in Cyc

Tutorial Terms Index

Abbreviations in Cyc
(AISs) Abstract strings and characters
#$actionExpressesFeeling
Actors
#$actors
#$ActorSlot
Actor slots
Commonly used actor slots
Lesson on Actor Slots
#$Agent
#$anatomicalParts
#$and
#$AppropriateEmotion
#$argsGenl
#$arg[N]genl
#$argsIsa
#$arg[N]Isa
#$arg1Isa
Argument
Lesson on Argument Types
Arity
#$arity
Lesson on Arity
Artifact
Assertion
Asymmetric
Atomic formula
#$BaseKB
#$betweenOnPath
Binary Predicate
#$BorderBetweenFn
The canonicalizer
Collection
#$Collection
Lesson on Collections and Individuals
Collection-denoting functions
#$comment
#$Communicating
#$connectedTo
(Logical) Connectives
Constant
Constraints
#$containsInformation
Context (aka Microtheories)
Context introduction
#$contraryFeelings
#$cotemporalSubEvents
#$CounterfactualContext
(CWs) Conceptual Works (Information lesson)
CycL
CycL Formulas
#$CyclicalIntervalGroupType
CycL Syntax
Lesson on CycL Syntax
Dates
Denotational functions
#$desires
Devices
Direction
Disjoint
#$disjointWith
Disjunction
Emotion
#$Event
Lesson on Events in Cyc
Event types
Lesson on Event Types
#$ExistingStuffType
Existential quantifier
#$ExistingObjectType
Expression
Financial Vocabulary
#$followingIntervalType
Food
#$forAll
Formulas
Frames and Slots
Function
#$Function-Denotational
Functions vs. Predicates
GAFs
#$genls
#$genlInverse
#$genlMt
Geography
#$GroupFn
Groups
Hand-reification
#$hasAttributes
Lesson on Horn Rules
#$HumanActivity
#$HypotheticalContext
(IBTs) Information-bearing things
#$implies
#$IndexedInfoSource
Individual
#$individual
#$IndividualDenotingFunction
Inference
Information
Lesson on information
#$InformationBearingThing
#$informationOrigin
#$InformationTransferEvent
Inheritance
#$Intangible
#$intersectsIntervalType
#$isa
#$ist
(KB) Knowledge Base
#$knows
Left hand side of rules
Lesson on why Cyc uses logic
#$LogicalConnective
Logical Connective
Material Vocabulary
#$Microtheory
Lesson on microtheories
#$myCreator
Naming Conventions
NARTS
(NATs) Nonatomic terms
#$negationInverse
#$negationPreds
(NL) Natural Language
Cyc-NL Documentation
#$not
Ontology
#$or
Organizations
#$orientation
#$parts
Part-whole vocabulary
#$performedBy
#$doneBy
#$Person
#$physicalDecompositions
#$physicalParts
#$physicalPortions
(PITs) Propositional content
#$Predicate
Predicate
Predicates vs. Functions
#$PropositionalInformationThing
Quantification
#$Quantifier
Quantifier
Quantity Vocabulary
Queries as ASKs
#$recipientOfInfo
#$CycLReifiableDenotationalTerm
Reification
#$RelationalStructure
Relation
#$Relationship
#$RelationshipType
#$rents
#$resultGenl
#$resultIsa
Roles in events
Role and capability vocabulary
#$Role
Lesson on Roles
Rule
Lesson on Rule Macro Predicates
Rule Macro Predicates
Rule-writing exercises
#$screwedTo
#$ScriptType
#$senderOfInfo
-SET
#$Situation
Skolemization
#$SolidTangibleThing
Spatial Vocabulary
Lesson on Spatial Relations
#$SpatialThing-Localized
Spec
#$startsAfterStartingOf
#$StaticSituation
#$subsetOf
Sub-collection
#$subEvents
Lesson on Subevents
#$subsumedByIntervalType
#$subsumesIntervalType
#$Taxonomic
Biological Taxonomy
#$TemporallyDisjointIntervalType
#$temporallyIntersects
#$TemporalObjectType
Temporal relationships
#$TemporalStuffType
#$TemporalThing
Term
There exists
#$thereExists
#$thereExistsAtLeast
#$thereExistsExactly
#$Thing
Time Representation
Time vocabulary
Time Exercises
#$TimeInterval
#$topicOfInfoTransfer
Top Level Vocabulary
Transfer of #$isa through #$genls
Transitivity of genls
#$TransportationEvent
#$Transportation Vocabulary
#$TransportViaFn
#$TruthFunction
Truth maintenance system
Unary functions
Universal quantifier
Upper Cyc Ontology
#$VariableArityRelation
Well-formedness