From:: tar@medg.lcs.mit.edu (Thomas A. Russ)
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 91 14:50:59 EST
To: gsl@ai.mit.edu
Subject: Taste Bud Stimulation and Ingestibility of Chinese Cuisine

			 AI Revolting Seminar
	
     Taste Bud Stimulation  and Ingestibility of Chinese Cuisine
	
			      Joyce Chen
			 Yu Shiang University

Unlike  linear and one-dimensional  Western menus such  as English and
French,   Chinese  menus   are well   known  as two-dimensional    and
non-linear.  In fact, the typical chinese meal as experience by groups
of computer  science  graduate students  exhibits a  high    degree of
parallelism during the entree  phase  (except for  resource contention
centered  around  the rice bowl).  Such   properties make Chinese meal
arbitration  by  computers particulary    difficult  and  challenging,
perhaps as most (Western) people think it is  more difficult to learn,
understand and use chopsticks than knives and forks. Is  it really so?
There  are more than one  billion Chinese people using such implements
and  they   have been  used for   several thousands  years without the
Chinese population becoming extinct through inability  to eat.  How do
people handle   that? How  humans   perceive,  learn,  understand  and
practice their use?  What kind   of secrets and  advantages that   are
hidden in Chinese culinary culture that many people simply enjoy using
without knowing?
	
This talk intends to explore these problems and find some answers from
the AI point of view.  Some  intelligence aspects of Chinese meals are
investigated.    Some   basic   concepts  of   two-dimensional  buffet
representation and  gossip networks, forward  chaining,  deduction and
the resolution principle are used to analyze and interpret  the formal
structure,  presentation,  ordering  and  evolution  of  Chinese meals
shared by large student groups.   Particular attention will be paid to
the question of why there is a prevalence of numbers used for ordering
meals  in certain classes of  restaurants.  Then, the principle of new
characters  are  investigated.  It  is  found that Chinese  meals have
certain advantages over that of  linear cuisine  not  only in artistic
beautifulness and  cultural      richness,  but  also  in  terms    of
palatability,  variety and ease of  accomodating  different tastes and
nutritional constraints.  If time permits, a speculative discussion of
the   grounds for  the   prevalence of Chinese restaurants surrounding
technical  schools  of   higher  education   will be  held.    Similar
concentrations  of Chinese  food in  high  tech areas such  as Silicon
Valley will also be considered.

Friday, March 22nd, 12:13 p.m.  NE43 8th Floor Playroom.
		                Good Food 12:10p.m.

Real Hackers: Arthur Lent, David Gillman and Rosario Gennaro
Administrative Hacker: Karen Sarachik
Humor Hacker: Tom Russ