In this autobiography, Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon looks at his career, continually asking himself whether (and how) what he learned as a scientist helps to explain other aspects of his life. A polymath in an age of increasing specialization, Simon is one of those scholars whose work may define fields of inquiry. Crossing disciplinary lines in half a dozen fields, Simon's story encompasses the information sciences, the transformation of psychology by the information of computer paradigm, and the use of computer simulation for modelling the behaviour of highly complex systems. Simon's theory of bounded rationality led to a Nobel Prize in economics, and his work on building machines that think - based on the notion that human intelligence is the rule-governed manipulation of symbols - laid conceptual foundations for the new cognitive science. Subsequently, contrasting metaphors of the maze (Simon's view) and of the mind (neural nets) have dominated the artifical intelligence debate. There is also an account of his successful marriage and of an unconsummated love affair, letters to his children, columns, a short story, and political and personal intrigue in academe.
In this autobiography, Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon looks at his career, continually asking himself whether (and how) what he learned as a scientist helps to explain other aspects of his life. A polymath in an age of increasing specialization, Simon is one of those scholars whose work may define fields of inquiry. Crossing disciplinary lines in half a dozen fields, Simon's story encompasses the information sciences, the transformation of psychology by the information of computer paradigm, and the use of computer simulation for modelling the behaviour of highly complex systems. Simon's theory of bounded rationality led to a Nobel Prize in economics, and his work on building machines that think - based on the notion that human intelligence is the rule-governed manipulation of symbols - laid conceptual foundations for the new cognitive science. Subsequently, contrasting metaphors of the maze (Simon's view) and of the mind (neural nets) have dominated the artifical intelligence debate. There is also an account of his successful marriage and of an unconsummated love affair, letters to his children, columns, a short story, and political and personal intrigue in academe.
Part I Journey to a 21st birthday: the boy in Wisconsin; forests and fields; education in Chicago; encounter with a scientific revolution - political science at Chicago. Part II The scientist as a young man: a taste of research - the City Managers' Association; managing research - Berkeley; teaching at Illinois Tech; a matter of loyalty; building a business school - the Graduate School of Industrial Administration; research and science politics; mazes without minotaurs; roots of artificial intelligence; climbing the mountain - artificial intelligence achieved. Part III View from the mountain: exploring the plain; personal threads in the warp; creating a university environment for cognitive science and A.I.; on being argumentative; the student troubles; the scientist as politician; foreign adventures. Part IV Research after 60: from Nobel to now; the amateur diplomat in China and the Soviet Union; guides for choice. Afterword: the scientist as problem solver.
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)..
"As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be--a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology."--Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
& quot; As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be -- a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology.& quot; -- Sherry Turkle, New York Times Book Review
" As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be -- a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology." -- Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
-- Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
"As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be--a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology."--Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
& quot; As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be -- a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology.& quot; -- Sherry Turkle, New York Times Book Review
" As much as any one person, Herbert A. Simon has shaped the
intellectual agenda of the human and social sciences in the second
half of the 20th century .... For many readers, Mr. Simon's view of
human endeavor, of love and of work, will seem emblematic not of
the pre-Freudian rationalism-that-was but a new, sleeker,
rationalism-to-be -- a rationalism purged of utopian excess,
committed to empirical studies, and wedded to the most modern
technology." -- Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
-- Sherry Turkle, "New York Times Book Review"
Simon is a veritable Renaissance man: considered the father of artificial intelligence, he also contributed to the theory of organizational behavior and was the first social scientist to be admitted to the National Academy of Science. In this extensive and entertaining autobiography, he writes smoothly and provocatively on a range of topics from his early youth to his years at UC Berkeley, Illinois, and, finally Carnegie Mellon. He is surprisingly candid in discussing how he ``prepared'' for his Nobel prize in economics, and his descriptions of political and personal in-fighting in academe document an aspect often not shown. Simon has participated in some of the most wide-ranging intellectual developments of this century, and his autobiography surely will interest many readers.-- Hilary D. Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, Cal.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
