Graph theoretic models for reasoning about time

  • Authors:

  • Martin Charles Golumbic

  • Affiliations:

  • Caesarea Rothschild Institute, Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

  • Venue:
  • ASIAN'04 Proceedings of the 9th Asian Computing Science conference on Advances in Computer Science: dedicated to Jean-Louis Lassez on the Occasion of His 5th Cycle Birthday
  • Year:
  • 2004

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Abstract

Reasoning about time is a very ancient discipline, perhaps as old as prehistoric man. These ancient humans had discovered how long to roast their hunted meat and how to dry and age the skins of animals. They learned how and when to plant seeds, and were guided by the cycles of the sun, moon and the seasons. Our ancestors knew that day followed night and night followed day, and they had some notion of duration of day and night. This basic temporal knowledge was exploited to develop a sense of planning, taking advantage of observation and experience. For example, they would have observed that deer drink at the river at a certain time of the day, or that .sh are easier to catch in the early morning. Early humans could recognize the changing seasons, and adapted their behavior in order to expect and avoid some of the dangers of cold and hunger by preparing in advance.