Method for symbol manipulation in an electronic data processing system

This invention relates to symbol manipulation in electronic data processing systems, and more particularly to methods for altering the representation of ages, names, and proverbs in electronic data processing systems. This invention provides a method for symbol manipulation in an electronic data processing system that can be used to alter the representation of ages, names, and proverbs in ways that some people find to be highly amusing. Among other advantages, the representation of people's ages can be altered so that a younger person seems older and an older person seems younger, and the representation of people's names can be altered so that they appear to come from other cultures and are descriptive of the person. Similarly, the representation of proverbs can be altered so that they appear to concern matters of individualized interest. In a preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention comprises the steps, using an electronic data processing system, of inputting an expression of age in base notation, converting the expression of age in base notation to an expression of age in an alternate base notation, and outputting the expression of age in the alternate base notation. An alternate preferred embodiment of a method of the present invention comprises the steps, using an electronic data processing system, of inputting an input name and an input adjective, converting the input name to a cognate form, converting the input adjective to a synonym, and outputting the cognate form and the synonym. Another alternate preferred embodiment of a method of the present invention comprises the steps, using an electronic data processing system, of inputting an input phrase and an input adjective, selecting a proverb form corresponding to the input adjective, inserting the input phrase into the proverb form, and outputting the proverb form with the inserted input phrase.