Dissolving variables in connectionist combinatory logicA connectionist system which can represent and execute combinator expressions to elegantly solve the variable binding problem in connectionist networks is presented. This system is a graph reduction machine utilizing graph representations and traversal mechanisms similar to ones described in the BoltzCONS system of Touretzky (1986). It is shown that, as combinators eliminate variables by introducing special functions, these functions can be connectionistically implemented without reintroducing variable binding. This approach 'dissolves' an important part of the variable binding problem, in that a connectionist system still has to manipulate complex data structures, but those structures and their manipulations are rendered more uniform.
Document ID
19910035169
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Barnden, John (New Mexico State Univ. Las Cruces, NM, United States)
Srinivas, Kankanahalli (New Mexico State University Las Cruces, United States)