About backchaining, does OpenCyc make deductions during assertion time so that even though the backchaining is set low it might not mean that a rule won be used?
Correct. Forward chaining (per rule at assert time) asserts facts that you later just look up. When you assert a rule, you say whether it is forward or backward. The great majority of rules are backward, or rules are made forward for a one-time propagation. When trying to decide on direction, try backwards first. If queries are slow, you can go forwards to precache answers. But forward inference can conclude lots and lots of uninteresting facts.
