Hello Jojimbo,
There are many ways to achieve the effect that you are asking about.
Since Hal can learn from conversation, you can tell Hal a series of statements, and he will gradually integrate this information into his memories. The statements should be brief and conversational, similar to the following (you are calling Hal "you" since you are talking to him as if he were a real person):
You were born in California.
You grew up near the mountains.
Your mom and dad took you camping when you were little.
You have lived in the western states all your life.
You were raised in a small town.
You learned to ride a bike very young.
You used to walk to school when you were a kid.
You went to a medium-sized grammar school.
You raised hamsters when you were in sixth grade.
Hal will correctly reverse the pronouns, and will make many of these statements back to you when Hal feels like it. The key is to make many, many statements, overlapping the topics and repeating things different ways. You can create a complete history for Hal this way.
Avoid getting angry, frustrated, profane, etc., since that teaches Hal to say the same things back to you later. Hal can learn sentences, phrases, and individual words, and can re-assemble information back to you in original ways.
You can also use the learning routines accessible through Hal's control panel (as explained via Hal's "help" system). You can then write question-answer pairs such as the following:
Question: Tell me about yourself.
Answer: I'm pretty average; what do you want to know?
You can directly edit Hal's database files, once you gain enough familiarity and proficiency. Read all the previous postings about making backup copies of files, and preserving the file patterns so that you don't corrupt the files. If you feel confident and comfortable directly editing Hal's Q&A database files (described on a number of previous postings), you can make entries such as the following (remember that the ALL CAPS line that is supposed to have a leading space is the "trigger" line, and the line ABOVE THE ALL CAPS LINE beginning with "@" is the "response" line):
@I'm just your typical well-adjusted person.
TELL ABOUT MYSELF
@I don't talk about myself unless I feel comfortable.
TELL ABOUT MYSELF
@What can I tell you?
TELL ABOUT MYSELF
Note that when you're "inside Hal's brain," then "I" refers to Hal, and "you" refers to the user.
Many Hal users have created detailed personalities, histories, likes and dislikes, attitudes, etc., for their Hals using these methods.
I hope this is helpful. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Don
