Left-sorted Bongard Problems have the keyword "arbitrary" on the OEBP.
Arbitrary BPs often communicate non-arbitrary ideas. M. M. Bongard's original "A vs. Б" Problem (BP100) is about recognizing letters. A choice of some such arbitrary letters was necessary.
Most Bongard Problems are at least slightly arbitrary. Almost any Bongard Problem could be changed in a number of ways to make slightly different Bongard Problems. When a Bongard Problem is labeled as "arbitrary", that means there is one especially obvious class of similar Bongard Problems, with none of them particularly more interesting or special than any other.
The self-referential (invalid) Bongard Problems BP538, BP545, BP902, BP1073 fit this definition (the solution involves the arbitrary detail of being that specific Bongard Problem instead of any other). On the other hand, the solution idea is not arbitrary when phrased with "this Bongard Problem".
Many "arbitrary" Bongard Problems are of the form "Detail X has arbitrary value A vs. not so" or "Detail X has arbitrary value A vs. detail X has arbitrary value B". Other "arbitrary" Bongard Problems feature arbitrary details that are not the distinction between the sides, e.g. BP545.
It is unclear whether or not we should label a Bongard Problem "arbitrary" if the arbitrarily fixed detail is a notable special case. For example, BP1024 could have been made using any number, but the number 1 is a non-arbitrary number, so the Bongard Problem does not seem so arbitrary. |