Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding
Schank and Abelson argued that understanding a text means supplying what is unsaid: a reader knows the restaurant script and so needs no mention of a waiter.
Why it matters
Understanding was first described as filling gaps from memory rather than parsing what is written.
A script sets out a typical sequence of events with roles and props. The SAM system used them to answer questions about news items, including about things the text did not say. The limitation is plain: a script must be written in advance, and millions are needed. That is the same problem Cyc later tried to solve by sheer volume.