University of California Davis Philosophy 13(G), Dr.

Dorsey

Newell & Simon, “Computer Science as Empirical Inquiry: Symbols and Search”

The Physical Symbol System Hypothesis

A physical symbol system (PSS) has the necessary and “sufficient” means for
general intelligent action (GIA).

(All systems exhibiting GIA are PSSs.)

(Any PSS of sufficient size can be organized to exhibit GIA.)

GIA: “… the same scope of intelligence we see in human action: that in

any real situation, behavior appropriate to the ends of the system and
adaptive to the demands of the environment can occur, within some limits
of speed and complexity.”

PSS: “… a machine that produces through time an evolving set of symbol

structures. Such a system exists in a world of objects wider than just these
symbolic structures themselves.”

physical symbols: i) obey the laws of physics; ii) not restricted to

human symbols

UTM

… …

In support of the PSSH

-Constructing Intelligent Systems

-The Modeling of Human Symbolic Behavior
-Other evidence (no real competitors)

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 University of California Davis Philosophy 13(G), Dr. Dorsey

The Heuristic Search Hypothesis

The solutions to problems are represented as symbol structures. A physical

symbol system exercises its intelligence in problem solving by search—that is,
by generating and progressively modifying symbol structures until it produces
a solution structure.

The GPS (General Problem Solver, 1957) (Association for Computing Machinery, A.M.
Turing Award, 1975, for contributions to A.I. and the psychology of human cognition)

A program that can solve problems by means-end analysis

Example: Missionaries and Cannibals Game

(try it! https://javalab.org/en/boat_puzzle_en/)

M, M, … (!)
C, C, … (!)
MM, MM, … (!)
CC, CC, … (!)

MM, … (✗)
CC, C… (…)
MC, C… (✗)
MC, M… (…)

CC, C, CC, C, MM, MC, MM, C, CC, C, CC (✓)

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 University of California Davis Philosophy 13(G), Dr. Dorsey

One potential criticism: “Insight”

—Are all problems well-defined means-end problems? If not, do some such
problems require ‘insight’ to be solved?
—Can/do humans solve (some) means-end problems by ‘insight’?

The missionaries and cannibals game

The cannibal-imbalance, otherwise balance approach

The checkerboard game

Remove top-left corner and bottom-right corner; then, if you can, cover what

remains of the board with 1x2 rectangles like this:

The (centered) hexagonal number game

Write an algebraic formula capturing all (centered) hexagonal numbers. Go!

1 7 19 37

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 University of California Davis Philosophy 13(G), Dr. Dorsey

Checkerboard insight

Needed But corners removed were black

Centered hexagonal number insight

the nth such number is….

n3 - (n-1)3

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