Explanation-based domain theory

MORE is an experimental system, implemented in Prolog [4], which uses explanation-based learning techniques to build the student model. MORE is able to cope with the problem of incomplete theories by means of an oracle, and it is now being extended to deal with the problem of inconsistencies. We have chosen a non-procedural domain to test the principles and ideas underlying our system, the domain of French XVn century history. It is clear, however, that our approach can be used in procedural domains as well. 

The theory must satisfy the principle of conceptual minimalism, in the sense that it must cover as large a domain of physical experience as possible with the smallest possible number of conceptual elements. Formal approaches that are consistent with this principle allow the determination of a large number of physical parameters and the explanation of various sets of data through computations based on a small number of formal quantities (like the electronic self-energy). The conceptual effort expanded in reducing the study of the phenomena to that of a small number of elements can yield immense rewards in terms of a deep understanding of the phenomena under consideration. 

---