Society of Mind - (Touchstone Book) by Marvin Minsky (Paperback)

About the Book

Describing the mind as a "society" that arises out of ever-smaller, mindless agents, each chapter corresponds to a single puzzle piece and a unified theory of the mind emerges before the eyes. Illustrated.

Book Synopsis

Marvin 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.

Review Quotes

Douglas Hofstadter author of Gödel, Escher, Bach and Metamagical Themas A stunning collage of staccato images, filled to the brim with witty insights and telling aphorisms.

San Jose Mercury News SCATTERED WITH GEMS....Liable to be influential far beyond the narrow researches of artificial intelligence.

The New York Times Book Review INGENIOUS...STIMULATING...crisp, packed with quips, aphorisms and homely illustrations. A pleasure to read...It will make you think. And that's what brains are for.

Gene Roddenberry creator of Star Trek A REMARKABLE BOOK....I am grateful that Marvin Minsky was my tour guide on this journey in the realms of my own consciousness.

Issac Asimov Information Week 270 brilliantly original essays on...how the mind works.

Martin Gardner The Boston Sunday Globe SPARKLING WITH JOKES and apt quotations...and rich insights.

Michael Crichton author to The Andromeda Strain PROVOCATIVE, DELIGHTFUL, CHALLENGING, a rich, funny and altogether fascinating book.

Professor Guy Cellerier Genetic Artificial Intelligence and Epistemics Laboratory, University of Geneva A PROFOUND AND FASCINATING BOOK that lays down the foundations for the solution of one of the last great problems of modern science....Marks a new era.