[CL] Clausal Reasoners and The Absence of Lexical Signifiers for Variables

[John F. Sowa]

Randall,

 > Interchange formats are text, and hence linear.

I agree.

 > In my mind, formulas are trees.

Yes, but the variables create cross-references that
make the trees into graphs.

In fact, variables don't really "vary" -- they are
merely markers of repeated references to the same
individual.  That is one reason why Peirce claimed
that graphs are more fundamental because they show
connections more directly.

The clause-form trees are designed for a particular
set of algorithms.  The graph forms support other
kinds of algorithms.  For different kinds of problems,
different algorithms have different advantages.

John