GPS, A PROGRAM THAT SIMULATES HUMAN THOUGHT

Abstract

Effort was directed toward showing that the techniques that have emerged for constructing sophisticated problem-solving programs also provide us with new, strong tools for constructing theories of human thinking. They allow us to merge the rigor and objectivity associated with behaviorism with the wealth of data and complex behavior associated with the gestalt movement. To this end their key feature is not that they provide a general framework for understanding problem-solving behavior (although they do that too), but that they finally reveal with great clarity that the free behavior of a reasonably intelligent human can be understood as the product of a complex but finite and determinate set of laws. Although we know this only for small fragments of behavior, the depth of the explanation is striking. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 1961
Accession Number
AD0294731

Entities

People

  • A. Newell
  • H.a. Simon

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Automata
  • Learning
  • Mental Processes
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychological Theory
  • Republic
  • Thinking

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space