A method for identifying unknown input data, such as patterns or characters. In order to classify unknown input characters, first, during a preprocessing phase, large number of reference data is collected and analyzed in order to form "ringed clusters" for each class of input data. For example, if the input data are characters, a set of ringed clusters is associated with each character class, such as all "e". These ringed clusters may be coarse, medium or fine depending upon the desired accuracy in classifying the input characters. The ringed clusters include "certainty spheres" which are used to identify with certainty an unknown input character if it lies within such a sphere. The ringed clusters also include "confidence spheres" which are used to identify, although not with certainty, the unknown input character, and assign a confidence value indicating the relative confidence associated with the possibility that this unknown character corresponds to the reference data class of the ringed cluster.
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