Sinposis

HERBERT SIMON'S CLASSIC AND INFLUENTIAL THE SCIENCES OF THE ARTIFICIAL DECLARES DEFINITIVELY THAT THERE CAN BE A SCIENCE NOT ONLY OF NATURAL PHENOMENA BUT ALSO OF WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL. EXPLORING THE COMMONALITIES OF ARTIFICIAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING ECONOMIC SYSTEMS, THE BUSINESS FIRM, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, COMPLEX ENGINEERING PROJECTS, AND SOCIAL PLANS, SIMON ARGUES THAT DESIGNED SYSTEMS ARE A VALID FIELD OF STUDY, AND HE PROPOSES A SCIENCE OF DESIGN. FOR THIS THIRD EDITION, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1996, SIMON ADDED NEW MATERIAL THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT ADVANCES IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN WHILE CONFIRMING AND EXTENDING THE BOOK'S BASIC THESIS: THAT A PHYSICAL SYMBOL SYSTEM HAS THE NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT MEANS FOR INTELLIGENT ACTION.