A. Newell & H.A. Simon, The Theory of Human Problem Solving. Reprinted in Readings in Cognitive Science, Collins & Smith (eds.), section 1.3, pp. 33.

Author of the summary: J. William Murdock, 1997, murdock@cc.gatech.edu

Cite this paper for:

• The proposed architecture is a reasonable approximation of human cognition for the purpose of studying problem solving.

Keywords: Symbol, Search, Production System, Goal

Systems: None

Summary: Presents human cognition as an "Information Processing
System" (IPS).  Discusses characteristics such as speed, decay rate,
etc. of human information processing capabilities such as short term
memory, long term memory, "external memory" (notes, etc.), perception,
"elementary information processes", etc. Proposes an architecture for
human cognition; suggests that humans are essentially symbol
manipulators that perform operations serially and represent knowledge
as production rules and do problem solving as search through a problem
space with explicit representation of goals.

Point: The proposed architecture is a reasonable approximation of
human cognition for the purpose of studying problem solving.

Summary author's notes:

• This summary came from a file which had the following disclaimer: "The following summaries are the completely unedited and often hastily composed interpretations of a single individual without any sort of systematic or considered review. As such it is very likely that at least some of the following text is incomplete, inadequate, misleading, or simply wrong. One might view this as a very preliminary draft of a survey paper that will probably never be completed. The author disclaims all responsibility for the accuracy or use of this document; this is not an official publication of the Georgia Institute of Technology or the College of Computing thereof, and the opinions expressed here may not even fully match the fully considered opinions of the author much less the general opinions of the aformentioned organizations."