The use of theorem-proving techniques in question-answering systems

For the purpose of this paper, a question-answering system is a computer program that has at least the following three characteristics: (1) The ability to accept statements of fact and store them in its memory (2) The ability to search stored information efficiently and to recognize items that are relevant to a particular query (3) The ability to respond appropriately to a question by identifying and presenting the answer if it is present in memory, and by deducing a reasonable logical response from relevant knowledge if the complete answer is not explictly available.