[Attempto] RACE thinks if Chicago and Detroit are cities, then every city is Chicago

[Norbert E. Fuchs]

> On 16 Nov 2019, at 24:14 , Tanner Swett <tannerswett at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I've noticed that RACE can make some questionable inferences given axioms containing proper names.
> 
> I tried the following using the RACE client at http://attempto.ifi.uzh.ch/race/:
> 
> Input:
> Axioms: Chicago is a city. Detroit is a city.
> Theorems: Every city is Chicago.
> 
> Output: True.
> 
> Both axioms need to be present in order for RACE to conclude that the theorems follow; "Chicago is a city." alone is not enough for RACE to conclude that every city is Chicago. The axioms "Chicago is a city. Chicago is a city." also don't suffice, but if I give it "Chicago is a city. A city is Chicago.", that *is* enough for it to conclude that every city is Chicago.
> 
> A similar problem occurs if I mention multiple different types of objects:
> 
> Input:
> Axioms: Chicago is a city. France is a country
> Theorems: France is a city.
> 
> Output: True.
> 
> All of these counterintuitive theorems are said to be true because of "Prolog Axiom transcompadj2: Transitivity of comparative adjectives."
> 
> Am I misunderstanding what proper names mean to RACE, or is this a bug?
> 
> Tanner Swett
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Dear Tanner Swett

I updated RACE, specifically the auxiliary axioms transcompadj1 and transcompadj2 for the transitivity of comparative adjectives, so that the erroneous deductions that you reported are no longer produced. 

Instead RACE correctly produces

  John is older than Mary. Mary is older than Harry.|- John is older than Harry.
  A dog is heavier than a cat. A cat is heavier than a mouse. |- A dog is heavier than a mouse.
  Every dog is larger than a cat. Every cat is larger than a mouse. |- Every dog is larger than a mouse.
  There is a dog. There is a cat. There is a mouse. Every dog is larger than every cat. Every cat is larger than every mouse. |- Every dog is larger than every mouse.

Please let me know if you find other strange or erroneous deductions.

Best regards.

   --- nef