ABSTRACT
Analogical reasoning is the process of finding and adapting old solutions to solve new problems. Unlike most analogy work, which has emphasized mapping the analogy to the target problem, we focussed on search for the analogy. Experiments with humans doing analogical reasoning uncovered a search strategy which we call Lambda Search, because of its up and down shape through long-term memory. Lambda Search begins by generalizing on the properties of the target problem and then eventually specializing on the examples of some higher level concept. These ideas were implemented in a computer program named Lambda. Simulations demonstrated that search lessened, and in some cases solved, the problems of mapping and tweaking.
