Computational Analogy Making

Background and motivation

A human’s ability to identify objects/ situations in one context as similar to objects/ situations in another context is identified as analogy making. We largely follow the steps listed below when we make analogies. Building representations: These could be hierarchical graphical structures of entities and relationships between the entities in domains. Mapping: Finding corresponding elements in each structure is performed by mapping Usually, mapping is done from a source/ base domain (a familiar domain) to a target domain (a new unfamiliar domain). Inference: Once the mapping is complete, knowledge from the source domain is transferred to the target domain. Some relationships and entities may be absent in the target domain, that are present in the base domain. Identifying these and completing them can be identified as inference.

There have been several attempts at formalizing the process of human analogy making and representing the same computationally through symbolic, connectionist, and hybrid approaches. Gentner’s Structure Mapping Theory(SMT) [1] is paramount in the domain.