Patent ID: 8051104

Claim:
A machine-implemented method, comprising: receiving, at a computer system, user-generated data through a user interface, the user-generated data comprising: a primary term that represents a new first concept to be added to an existing machine-readable network of interrelated concepts, one or more other terms that are synonymous with the primary term, and that also represent the new first concept, information specifying at least one hierarchical relationship between the new first concept and a second concept, information specifying a relationship type of the at least one hierarchical relationship, and information specifying a strength of the at least one hierarchical relationship in a direction from the new first concept to the second concept, and information specifying a strength of the at least one hierarchical relationship in a direction from the second concept to the new first concept; receiving, at the computer system, a user request to add the new first concept to the existing machine-readable network of interrelated concepts; and adding, at the computer system, the new first concept in the existing machine-readable network of interrelated concepts by adding the primary term, the one or more other terms, the information specifying the relationship, the information specifying the relationship type, the information specifying the strength of the at least one relationship in the direction from the new first concept to the second concept, and the information specifying the strength of the at least one hierarchical relationship in the direction from the second concept to the new first concept, to the existing machine-readable network of interrelated concepts, wherein the strength in the direction from the new first concept to the second concept is different than the strength in a direction from the second concept to the new first concept.