Society Of MindMarvin Minsky -- one of the fathers of computer science and cofounder of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT -- gives a revolutionary answer to the age-old question: "How does the mind work?" Minsky brilliantly portrays the mind as a "society" of tiny components that are themselves mindless. Mirroring his theory, Minsky boldly casts The Society of Mind as an intellectual puzzle whose pieces are assembled along the way. Each chapter -- on a self-contained page -- corresponds to a piece in the puzzle. As the pages turn, a unified theory of the mind emerges, like a mosaic. Ingenious, amusing, and easy to read, The Society of Mind is an adventure in imagination. |
Contents
PROLOGUE | 17 |
WHOLES AND PARTS | 24 |
CONFLICT AND COMPROMISE | 32 |
THE SELF | 38 |
INDIVIDUALITY | 47 |
PROBLEMS AND GOALS | 70 |
A THEORY OF MEMORY | 81 |
PAPERTS PRINCIPLE | 98 |
DEVELOPMENT | 173 |
REASONING | 185 |
WORDS AND IDEAS | 195 |
CONTEXT AND AMBIGUITY | 206 |
EXPRESSION | 225 |
COMPARISONS | 237 |
FRAMES | 243 |
FRAMEARRAYS | 253 |
THE SHAPE OF SPACE | 108 |
LEARNING MEANING | 118 |
SEEING AND BELIEVING | 132 |
REFORMULATION | 140 |
CONSCIOUSNESS AND MEMORY | 150 |
EMOTION | 162 |
LANGUAGEFRAMES | 260 |
CENSORS AND JOKES | 273 |
THE MIND AND THE WORLD | 282 |
THE REALMS OF THOUGHT | 291 |
MENTAL MODELS | 300 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
able actions active actually agencies agents already animals answer appear apple apply assume attached become blocks body brain build cause cells certain child common complex concept concerned connections Consider depends describe descriptions develop direction effect example experience explain express feel force frame functions genes goals happens hard human ideas imagine inside involved K-line keep kinds knowledge language later lead less levels look machine matter mean memories mental merely mind move natural never object once Origin ourselves particular Perhaps person physical polynemes present principle problem processes pronome questions realms reason recognize relations represent require seems sense separate shape signals similar simply single situation skills society solve sort speak structures Suppose sure tend theories things thought turn types understand usually various