The Sciences of the Artificial, reissue of the third edition with a new introduction by John Laird

by Herbert A. Simon, John E. Laird (Introduction)

Overview

Herbert Simon's classic work on artificial intelligence in the expanded and updated third edition from 1996, with a new introduction by John E. Laird.

Herbert Simon's classic and influential The Sciences of the Artificial declares definitively that there can be a science not only of natural phenomena but also of what is artificial. Exploring the commonalities of artificial systems, including economic systems, the business firm, artificial intelligence, complex engineering projects, and social plans, Simon argues that designed systems are a valid field of study, and he proposes a science of design. For this third edition, originally published in 1996, Simon added new material that takes into account advances in cognitive psychology and the science of design while confirming and extending the book's basic thesis: that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for intelligent action.

Simon won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1978 for his research into the decision-making process within economic organizations and the Turing Award (considered by some the computer science equivalent to the Nobel) with Allen Newell in 1975 for contributions to artificial intelligence, the psychology of human cognition, and list processing. The Sciences of the Artificial distills the essence of Simon's thought accessibly and coherently. This reissue of the third edition makes a pioneering work available to a new audience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262354752
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	08/13/2019
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	747 KB

About the Author

Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001) was an influential psychologist and political scientist, awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economics and the 1975 Turing Award (with Allen Newell). His many published books include Models of Bounded Rationality and Models of My Life (both published by the MIT Press)..

John E. Laird is John L. Tishman Professor of Engineering in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Introduction John E. Laird ix

Preface to Third Edition xvii

Preface to Second Edition xix

1 Understanding the Natural and Artificial Worlds 1

2 Economic Rationality: Adaptive Artifice 25

3 The Psychology of Thinking: Embedding Artifice in Nature 51

4 Remembering and Learning: Memory as Environment for Thought 85

5 The Science of Design: Creating the Artificial 111

6 Social Planning: Designing the Evolving Artifact 139

7 Alternative Views of Complexity 169

8 The Architecture of Complexity: Hierarchic Systems 183

Name Index 217

Subject Index 221

What People are Saying About This

Endorsement

People sometimes ask me what they should read to find out about artificial intelligence. Herbert Simon's book The Sciences of the Artificial is always on the list I give them. Every page issues a challenge to conventional thinking, and the layman who digests it well will certainly understand what the field of artificial intelligence hopes to accomplish. I recommend it in the same spirit that I recommend Freud to people who ask about psychoanalysis, or Piaget to those who ask about child psychology: if you want to learn about a subject, start by reading its founding fathers.

—George A. Miller, Complex Information Processing

From the Publisher

"If one were to read a single book that would encompass the essential Simon, I would suggest the slim volume The Sciences of the Artificial, written for a broad scientific audience. In an elegant and lucid way, Simon explains the principles of modeling complex systems, particularly the human information-processing system that we call the mind."

—Edward A. Feigenbaum, Science

Complex Information Processing - George A. Miller

People sometimes ask me what they should read to find out about artificial intelligence. Herbert Simon's book The Sciences of the Artificial is always on the list I give them. Every page issues a challenge to conventional thinking, and the layman who digests it well will certainly understand what the field of artificial intelligence hopes to accomplish. I recommend it in the same spirit that I recommend Freud to people who ask about psychoanalysis, or Piaget to those who ask about child psychology: if you want to learn about a subject, start by reading its founding fathers.