login
Hints
(Greetings from The On-Line Encyclopedia of Bongard Problems!)

Glossary for the OEBP

Term Description
BP Bongard Problem.
A vertical dividing line with a collection of objects on either side.
Furthermore, there must be some simple description for each side that describes no object on the opposite side. See this page for more information.
example An object belonging to one of the two sides in a Bongard Problem.
box
or
panel
A picture inside a square outline.
Traditionally, each example in a Bongard Problem is displayed in a box to visually separate it from the other examples.
pattern
or
rule
Some property in common among a collection of objects.
solution
or
answer
A rule that all examples on one side of a Bongard Problem fit but none on the other side do.
MBP Meta Bongard Problem.
A Bongard Problem whose examples are Bongard Problems.
MMBP Meta Meta Bongard Problem.
A Bongard Problem whose examples are meta Bongard Problems.
keyword An organizational tag used to categorize Bongard Problems on the OEBP. Keywords make it easy to search for all Bongard Problems of a certain kind. See this page for a complete list of keywords.
world The type of thing a Bongard Problem sorts.
This is the most obvious rule all examples from both sides obey. See this page for more information.
ambiguity An object is called ambiguous as a potential example for a Bongard Problem if it wouldn't clearly be sorted on the left or the right. See this page for more information.
narrow A rule is "narrow" if people can figure out what it is just by seeing a lot of examples that satisfy it, without being given any counter-examples.

"Shaped like a five pointed star" is a narrow rule. When you see a collection of five pointed stars, it is obvious that is the pattern.
"Not shaped like a five pointed star" is not narrow. When you see a collection of shapes that are not five pointed stars, the absence of five pointed stars won't jump out at you; you will just see the pattern as "shapes".

To indicate a side of a Bongard Problem is narrow, use the keyword "left-narrow" or "right-narrow". (Note that it is possible for both to apply.)
wide A rule is "wide" when it is not narrow and its negation is narrow.

"Not shaped like a five pointed star" is a wide rule.
Narrow rules seem intuitively "positive" and wide rules seem intuitively "negative".

If one side of a Bongard Problem is to be narrow and the other side is to be wide, we on the OEBP as a loose convention prefer to put the narrow side on the left.
("Stars vs. not stars" as opposed to "Not stars vs. stars".)

Welcome | Solve | Browse | Lookup | Recent | Links | Register | Contact
Contribute | Keywords | Concepts | Worlds | Ambiguities | Transformations | Invalid Problems | Style Guide | Goals | Glossary