ON CYBERNETICS, INFORMATION PROCESSING, AND THINKING,
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to examine the origins, development, and present status of those key cybernetic notions that provide an information-flow framework within which to attack one aspect of the question of how a person thinks; i.e., the question of the information mechanisms and processes which underlie and are correlated with thinking. The cybernetic way of looking at information processing in the nervous system is examined to see in what sense it provides new and sharp tools of analysis for the neurophysiologist. With this as background, the problem of artificial intelligence is considered and with that the logical and linguistic difficulties in talking about the relationship between thinking and brain activity. An information-flow model of an artificial brain mechanism is described whose activity, it is argued, is the correlate to activity such as perceiving, learning, thinking, knowing, etc. This leads to a consideration of the impact of these notions on theoretical neurophysiology and its attempt to frame suitable hypotheses, and on epistemology concerned with the logical analysis of measures, methods, and techniques which can justify the activity of knowing. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0435484
Entities
People
- M. E. Maron
Organizations
- RAND Corporation