Patent ID: 8347237
Filing Date: 2013-01-01
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computer controlled method for synchronizing a belief graph representing relationships between information, and a visual representation of a comprehension state provided on a display, the method comprising: providing an undisplayed belief graph representing relationships between entities, at least one entity being linked to another entity with an edge, the edge having a weight based on a strength of a relationship between the entities connected by the edge; presenting, in a workspace window responsive to the belief graph, the visible representation of the comprehension state, the visible representation including a plurality of separately-movable instance objects including entity instance objects representing the entities and relationship instance objects representing the edges in the belief graph, the separately-movable instance objects being displayed in the visible representation such that the entity instance objects are placed in a spatial relationship with the relationship instance objects, the relationship instance objects including couples, belief statements and entity group boxes, which are associated with weights of the edges; presenting at least first, second and third entity instance objects in the visual representation, the first and second entity instance objects representing a first entity, the third entity instance object representing a second entity connected to the first entity by a first edge in the belief graph, the third entity instance object being associated with the first entity instance object by a first relationship instance object corresponding to the first edge, the first relationship instance object is a composite object that geometrically contains the first and third entity instance objects and one or more sub-composite objects that contain entity instance objects, the first, second and third entity instance objects being positioned at different spatial positions; receiving a user selection of the first entity instance object and the second entity instance object; highlighting in the visual representation the composite object in a first highlight if all of the sub-composite objects contain entity instance objects that contain, have aliases to, or have relations to entity instance objects that represent the first entity but do not contain, have aliases to, or have relations to entity instance objects that represent the second entity; highlighting in the visual representation the composite object in a second highlight if all of the sub-composite objects contain entity instance objects that contain, have aliases to, or are related to entity instance objects that represent the second entity but do not contain, have aliases to, or have relations to entity instance objects that represent the first entity; highlighting in the visual representation the composite object in a third highlight if all of the sub-composite objects contain entity instance objects that contain, have aliases to, or are related to entity instance objects that represent the first entity and entity instance objects that represent the second entity; modifying at least one of the first entity instance object and the first relationship instance object; and modifying the belief graph responsive to the at least one of the first entity instance object and the first relationship instance object as modified, wherein the entity instance objects and the relationship instance objects include a degree-of-interest value, modifying the at least one of the first entity instance object and the first relationship instance object comprises changing the degree-of-interest value of the at least one of the first entity instance object and the first relationship instance object as modified, presenting the first entity instance object responsive to the degree-of-interest value, the degree-of-interest value being a user specific value or being calculated from a degree-of-interest value of another entity instance object or relationship instance object, and the degree-of-interest value of the third entity instance object is modified responsive to whether an edge in the belief graph connects the first entity to the second entity.