The Thought Experiment Approach to Qualitative Physics

This paper discusses the application of the thought experiment methodology to qualitative reasoning. Problem solving using this technique involves simplification of the original problem, solution of the simplified problem, and generalization of the results obtained. Our emphasis in this work is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in addressing complexity and grain size issues that affect qualitative simulation. The thought experiment methodology is presented formally, the implementation of a problem solver called TEPS is briefly discussed, and the methodology is compared with related techniques such as approximation, aggregation, and exaggeration.

TEPS: The Thought Experiment Approach to Qualitative Physics Problem solving, to appear in

This paper discusses the application of the thought experiment methodology to qualitative reasoning. Problem solving using this technique involves simplification of the original problem, solution of the simplifie d problem, and generalization of the results obtained. Our emphasis in this work is to demonstrate th e effectiveness of this approach in addressing complexity and grain size issues that affect qualitative simulation. The thought experiment methodology is presented formally, the implementation of a problem solve r called TEPS is briefly discussed, and the methodology is compared with related techniques such as approximation, aggregation, and exaggeration.