---
title: "Reasoning About Hidden Mechanisms"
authors:
  - "Richard J. Doyle"
doi: ""
url: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1989/215"
pdf: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1989/0215.pdf"
venue: "Proceedings of the Eleventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence"
year: 1989
pages: "1343-1348"
track: "Knowledge Representation"
keywords:
---

# Reasoning About Hidden Mechanisms

Richard J. Doyle

*Proceedings of the Eleventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence*, pages 1343-1348.

## Abstract

I describe an approach to the problem of forming hypotheses about hidden mechanisms within devices --- the "black box" problem for physical systems. The approach involves enumerating a set of physical and causal constraints and enumerating difference causal structures for devices, placing an ordering on these hypothesis types, and carefully controlling the generation of hypotheses. I relate in detail the performance of an implemented causal modeling system on the surprisingly puzzling pocket tire gauge. Results from several examples indicate that the ideas presented support capabilities for maintaining manageably sized hypothesis sets and for making fine distinctions among hypotheses.