Models of My Life by Herbert A. Simon (PDF)

Description

In this candid and witty autobiography, Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon looks at his distinguished and varied career, continually asking himself whether (and how) what he learned as a scientist helps to explain other aspects of his life.A brilliant polymath in an age of increasing specialization, Simon is one of those rare scholars whose work defines fields of inquiry. Crossing disciplinary lines in half a dozen fields, Simon’s story encompasses an explosion in the information sciences, the transformation of psychology by the information-processing paradigm, and the use of computer simulation for modeling the behavior 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 artificial intelligence debate.There is also a warm 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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book came to me as an incredible eye opener. I love reading biographies that show how people face tough, uncertain times; how they dealt with it, what they thought as they were experiencing adversity.Sometimes it feels like everyone is following a trend. We are continously searching for our path. It is a great example of how learning and having your own criteria is the most valuable asset in life. It is comforting to read about someone that encourages learning different fields turning us into thoughtful, conscious and meaningful human beings.We all know about this man’s achievements, but it is truly amazing to read on detail how he came to be this multidisciplined knowledable man. How this led to AI given his ability to correlate and integrate different interests that are so valuable to our every day life.The book is easy to read for people that are curious. It’s a great mix of history, innovation, politics and learning.I can only say this was a remarkable man that left a legacy, knowledge, technology and set the stage for modern life.

⭐This is a really great book! It is definitely written by an academic, which makes it tough to read at some points, but it is worth it.

⭐This is an excellent book for those who are considering life in academia on up through junior faculty. It should be required reading in all doctoral programs. This book provides unique insights into academic life, teaching philosophies, sparking and executing research, and the thought processes of senior faculty.

⭐I have not finished this yet but so far a great read with much insight into the authors mind.

⭐I gave it as a gift and they liked it.

⭐The late Herbert Simon was a veritable renaissance man. His autobiography, “Models of My Life,” discusses the single thread that underlined all of his intellectual conquests in artificial intelligence, sociology, cognitive science, psychology and economics. This one thread, animated by philosophical positivism and ripe scientific thirst, was his deep obsession with modeling and researching decision-theoretic behavior.It’s interesting to note that even though decision theory (how intelligent agents percieve and act upon choices amid various modalities) serves as the impetus for Simons work, he uses “Models” instead of “Model” in the book’s title. This is no accident. For you see, beautifully fitting of his memoir, this book delves into how Simon’s one passion was his “heuristic” in choosing which of many paths he could have taken througout his life. The upshot: Simon’s own life emulated the heuristic search (in AI) that he helped invent! Consequently, this lead him all over the globe, from Wisconsin to UChicago to Berkeley to Carnegie Mellon to China.This book is also about the times of Simon: the positivistic turn in social sciences, the scientific fermet of the 1950’s, the cultural tumult of the 60’s, the death of behaviorism and the rise of cognitivism — all along, peppered with intrigue of the politics of academia. Although the writing can get quite dry at times, his book is highly recommended.

⭐Satisficing as in searching for “good enough” actions rather than the optimal ones is one of the many contributions Herbert Simon is most famous for, in addition to being one of the parents of Artificial Intelligence. Whether the topic is management decision making, economics, traveling, teaching, or computer programs, this Renaissance Man had a life that many or most would envy.Herbert Simon is a true example to exemplify the benefits of multi-discipline efforts as one subject does not always know the answers. If anyone is interested in building their own latticework of mental models then the life of Mr. Simon is one to emulate. As this is not your average biography, expect to be challenged as the reading may take you to subjects that you are unaware of or have been exposed to. However, this is what makes the experience worth the trip as my many notes and earmarks attest to.As his life was about scientific discovery to quote, “I have sketched the theory of scientific discovery to which my study of these problems has led me. It is not a theory of global rationality but one of human limited computation in the face of complexity”. Yes, we live in an evermore complex world and I am glade I have some of Mr. Simon’s mental models to guide me through it.

⭐Maybe the book is great . Shipping had taken a long time .

Keywords

Free Download Models of My Life in PDF format
Models of My Life PDF Free Download
Download Models of My Life 1996 PDF Free
Models of My Life 1996 PDF Free Download
Download Models of My Life PDF
Free Download Ebook Models of My Life