Instead of explaining the ins and outs of elementary fact expressions, this article is a copy of the dialog held with ChatGPT about it. It was very quickly catching on, and along the way learned how to correct the mistakes. It is a very insightful session, and we consider it to be of help to our novice readers. Enjoy the read, and let us know what you think. (The article is only altered in layout to break down the directions in which the session heads.)

Do you know what an elementary fact expression is?

I'm not certain what you mean by "elementary fact expression," as the term is not a commonly used one in natural language or in any specific field of study. Can you please provide more context or information so I can better understand what you are asking?

Statements

An elementary fact expression is a fact, expressed in natural language with concrete values, from which no value can be skipped without loosing it's meaning.

Thank you for the clarification. In that case, an elementary fact expression is a statement in natural language that expresses a fact or proposition that cannot be further broken down without losing its meaning. It includes concrete values or specific details that are necessary for the proposition to be true and meaningful.

For example, the statement "John is 30 years old" is an elementary fact expression because it includes a specific name (John) and a concrete value (30 years old) that cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the statement.

On the other hand, a statement like "People are mortal" is not an elementary fact expression because it is a general statement that does not include specific details or concrete values. It could be made into an elementary fact expression by adding more specific information, such as "All humans are mortal."

You are correct, however you provided examples which used the concrete value "John" to a type level "human". For elementary fact expression to be verified, concrete values are mandatory.

You are correct, I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. In an elementary fact expression, concrete values are indeed mandatory and necessary for the expression to be considered elementary.

So, for example, a statement like "All humans are mortal" would not be considered an elementary fact expression because it is a general statement and does not include any concrete values. An example of an elementary fact expression would be "John is 30 years old," because it includes a specific name (John) and a concrete value (30 years old) that cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the statement.

Other examples of elementary fact expressions might include:

• "The apple is red"
• "The cat is sleeping"
• "The car has four wheels"
• "The book is on the table"

In each of these examples, a specific object or subject is identified along with a concrete value or attribute that cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the statement.

More specific

I would argue it is still unknown which apple, which cat, which car and which book. So, the values in the elementary fact expressions are not concrete enough since they still are referring to unknown objects.

You make a valid point that in the examples I provided, the specific object or subject is not fully identified. In that sense, the values in those expressions may not be concrete enough to be considered elementary fact expressions, since they refer to unknown or unspecified objects.

To be considered an elementary fact expression, the statement should include specific and concrete values that cannot be further broken down or abstracted without losing its meaning. So, an example like "The apple is red" may not be an elementary fact expression if the identity of the apple is not specified. However, if the statement is amended to include a specific apple, such as "The Granny Smith apple is red," then it becomes an elementary fact expression.

Similarly, "The cat is sleeping" may not be an elementary fact expression if the identity of the cat is unknown or unspecified. However, if the statement is amended to include a specific cat, such as "The black and white cat is sleeping," then it becomes an elementary fact expression.

In summary, for a statement to be considered an elementary fact expression, it must include specific and concrete values that cannot be further abstracted or broken down without losing its meaning.

Another example could be "My cat Leo is sleeping".

Yes, "My cat Leo is sleeping" would be considered an elementary fact expression because it includes a specific object ("my cat Leo") and a concrete value ("is sleeping") that cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the statement. The statement is complete and specific enough to convey a fact or proposition that cannot be further broken down without losing its meaning.

The type of fact (aka Fact Type) for "My cat Leo is sleeping" could be "Cat Activity".

Yes, "Cat Activity" could be a possible fact type for the elementary fact expression "My cat Leo is sleeping." A fact type is a general category or type of fact that the expression belongs to, based on the nature of the information being conveyed.

In this case, the fact being expressed is related to the activity of a cat, specifically that the cat named Leo is currently sleeping. The fact type "Cat Activity" would encompass a variety of expressions related to the behavior or actions of cats, such as "My cat is playing with a toy" or "The neighbor's cat is meowing loudly."

Other possible fact types for the expression "My cat Leo is sleeping" could include "Pet Care" (if the expression is being used in the context of providing care for the cat) or "Animal Behavior" (if the expression is being used in a more general or scientific context to describe the behavior of animals).

expression parts

Once an elementary fact expression is classified by its type, we may find expression parts which can be qualified by type as well. "My cat Leo is sleeping" could be broken down into Cat (My cat Leo) and Activity (sleeping).

Yes, that's correct. Once an elementary fact expression is identified and categorized by its type, we can further break it down into its constituent parts or components, and assign a type to each part.

For example, in the expression "My cat Leo is sleeping," we could identify two parts: "My cat Leo" and "is sleeping." We can then assign the type "Cat" to the first part, as it refers to a specific type of object, and the type "Activity" to the second part, as it describes a particular action or behavior.

Breaking down an elementary fact expression into its parts and assigning types to each part can help us to better understand and analyze the information being conveyed, and can facilitate the process of modeling and organizing the information in a structured manner. This can be particularly useful in various domains such as knowledge representation, natural language processing, and database management.

hard and soft semantics

The parts can be containing parts by themselves until we have classified the actual values themselves. The parts which are forming the structure are called hard semantics, and the text which is not part of the structuring is called soft semantics. In the example "My cat Leo is sleeping" the hard semantic would be Cat (My cat Leo) and Activity (sleeping), and the soft semantics would be "is". Looking at the parts for Cat (My cat Leo), again we discover hard semantics such as Owner (My) and Cat Name (Leo), whereas the word "cat" could be considered soft semantics.

Yes, that's correct. The parts of an elementary fact expression can contain sub-parts themselves, and these sub-parts can be classified by their respective types until we arrive at the actual values that make up the expression.

In the example "My cat Leo is sleeping," the hard semantics would include "Cat" (as a type) and its sub-parts "Owner" (as a type) and "Cat Name" (as a type), while "Activity" (as a type) would represent the behavior or action being described. The soft semantics would include connecting words such as "is," which help to convey the relationships between the different parts of the expression.

Breaking down an expression into its hard and soft semantics can help us to distinguish between the structural or logical aspects of the expression and the more descriptive or contextual aspects. This can be useful in various applications such as natural language understanding, information retrieval, and machine learning.

In the case of "My cat Leo is sleeping," the hard semantics of the "Cat" sub-part would include "Owner" (as a type) and "Cat Name" (as a type), which represent specific values within the expression. The word "cat" itself could be considered a soft semantic as it is a more general term that refers to the type of object being described.

The method

Given what we agreed upon so far, how would you explain this to a novice, and what would a procedural approach be in steps to classify and quality facts?

To explain the process of classifying and qualifying facts to a novice, I would start by defining an elementary fact expression as a simple sentence that describes a specific fact or proposition. I would then explain that we can analyze these expressions by breaking them down into their constituent parts and assigning a type to each part. This process helps us to better understand and organize the information being conveyed in the sentence.

I would then explain that the process of classifying and qualifying facts involves several steps:

1. Identify the elementary fact expression:
   Start by identifying the sentence or statement that describes a specific fact or proposition.
2. Categorize the fact type:
   Determine the general category or type of fact that the expression belongs to. For example, in the expression "My cat Leo is sleeping," the fact type could be "Cat Activity."
3. Identify the hard and soft semantics:
   Break down the expression into its hard and soft semantics. Hard semantics represent the structural or logical aspects of the expression, while soft semantics represent the more descriptive or contextual aspects.
4. Classify the parts by type:
   Assign a type to each part of the expression. For example, in the expression "My cat Leo is sleeping," we could identify the parts "Cat" and "Activity," and assign the types "Cat" and "Activity" respectively.
5. Qualify the values:
   Finally, qualify the values themselves by identifying the specific values that correspond to each part. For example, in the part "Cat," we could identify the sub-parts "Owner" and "Cat Name," and qualify the values for each sub-part (e.g., "My" and "Leo").

A procedural approach to classifying and qualifying facts could involve the following steps:

1. Identify the elementary fact expression.
2. Categorize the fact type.
3. Break down the expression into its hard and soft semantics.
4. Assign a type to each part of the expression.
5. Qualify the values for each part.

By following these steps, we can better understand and organize the information being conveyed in a sentence or statement, and use it to build more complex models and representations of the underlying knowledge.

check completeness

How can we verify if a fact expression is elementary, or even complete? Mathematically this is impossible, but which guidelines may we use to come close to being sure?

Verifying if a fact expression is elementary or complete can be a difficult task, as it requires understanding the context and meaning behind the statement being made. However, there are some guidelines that can help us come close to being sure.

To verify if a fact expression is elementary, we can follow these guidelines:

1. Check for concrete values:
   An elementary fact expression should contain concrete values, rather than abstract or vague terms. For example, instead of saying "Cars are expensive," a more concrete expression would be "The 2022 Toyota Camry costs $25,000."
2. Check for completeness:
   An elementary fact expression should be complete, meaning that it should contain all the necessary information to describe the fact being expressed. For example, instead of saying "John is a teacher," a more complete expression would be "John is a full-time math teacher at Lincoln High School."
3. Check for ambiguity:
   An elementary fact expression should be unambiguous and clearly convey the intended meaning. For example, instead of saying "The man walked his dog," a more specific expression would be "Tom walked his golden retriever named Max."

To verify if a fact expression is complete, we can also follow these guidelines:

1. Check for context:
   A complete fact expression should include enough context to make sense on its own, without requiring additional information or explanation. For example, instead of saying "I am going to the store," a more complete expression would be "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread and milk."
2. Check for accuracy:
   A complete fact expression should accurately represent the fact being expressed, without omitting or misrepresenting important details. For example, instead of saying "The car crashed," a more complete expression would be "The blue sedan crashed into the stop sign at the corner of Elm and Maple Streets at 3:15 pm on Tuesday, March 15th."
3. Check for consistency:
   A complete fact expression should be consistent with other known facts and information. For example, if we know that John is a vegetarian, a complete expression about him eating a hamburger would not be consistent and would require further clarification or correction.

By following these guidelines, we can come close to verifying if a fact expression is elementary or complete, and better understand the context and meaning behind the statement being made. However, there may still be some subjectivity and room for interpretation, as language can be complex and nuanced.

singular facts

One criteria for a fact expression to be elementary, was not discussed. It needs to contain only a single fact. Your example "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread and milk." actually contains a list of values (bread and milk). For elementary facts to be truly elementary is should be split into "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread." and "I am going to the grocery store to buy milk."

You are correct that an elementary fact expression should contain only a single fact. In the example "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread and milk," there are actually two separate facts being expressed, which should be split into "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread" and "I am going to the grocery store to buy milk" in order to be considered elementary.

Thank you for pointing that out and helping to clarify this criteria for verifying elementary fact expressions.

With above mentioned ammendment, please rephrase all your previous reply to be consistent.

Thank you for pointing that out and helping to clarify this criteria for verifying elementary fact expressions.

Rephrased reply: As you mentioned, an elementary fact expression should contain only a single fact. In the example "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread and milk," there are actually two separate facts being expressed, which should be split into "I am going to the grocery store to buy bread" and "I am going to the grocery store to buy milk" in order to be considered elementary.

To verify if a fact expression is elementary, we can use certain guidelines such as the fact expression containing only concrete values, being complete and not containing multiple facts within a single expression. However, mathematically speaking, it is impossible to be completely sure if a fact expression is elementary. We can use these guidelines to come close to being sure that the fact expression is indeed elementary.

Thanks for reading. This method of information modeling is called Fact Oriented Information Modeling. It allows experts in their own domain, use their own language to describe what data they need and use, and how this is structured. CaseTalk is a software product in helping you build information models using elementary fact expressions. The lastest version even allows you to conversate with ChatGPT about your facts in CaseTalk.