Patent ID: 8825511

Claim:
A non-transitory article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions tangibly embodied thereon which, when implemented, cause a computer to carry out a plurality of method steps comprising: receiving input pertaining to a user task for which a schedule reminder is to be managed; automatically determining a timing and repetition management scheme for the schedule reminder based on (i) a user model that associates a value with each of multiple needs of the user relative to each of the other multiple needs of the user, (ii) analysis of current user context and (iii) a model of coupled nonlinear oscillators, wherein: one or more oscillators in said model of coupled nonlinear oscillators adjust in connection with said received input from the user via a user interface, thereby dynamically altering the timing and repetition management scheme based on a coupling interaction with the one or more other oscillators in said model of coupled nonlinear oscillators; and one or more oscillators in said model of coupled nonlinear oscillators adjust in connection with an oscillator associated with one or more additional users corresponding to the task for which the schedule reminder is to be managed, thereby dynamically altering the timing and repetition management scheme by synchronizing the one or more oscillators in said model of coupled nonlinear oscillators with the oscillator associated with the one or more additional users; determining a confidence level for the schedule reminder based on one or more probabilistic models and one or more information-theoretic computations; requesting from the user one or more items of information pertaining to the schedule reminder if the confidence level is below a threshold; associating the confidence level with the timing and repetition management scheme; and conveying the schedule reminder to the user in accordance with the timing and repetition management scheme.