Mindware Ch. 2: "Symbol Systems"

Theme of the reading
This chapter describes the role of formal symbol systems in the history of artificial intelligence. This is a GIANT topic in cognitive science - a set of ideas that formed the core of cognitive science for many years. Cognitive scientists have now abandoned many of these ideas. So why study them? To understand what we are doing today, we need to understand what we are running from.

Getting ready to read
Definitions:
Syntax: formal rules for putting elements of a language together. In natural language, grammar is syntax.

Semantics: What things mean. Notice that a system for representing complex ideas must have both syntax and semantics.

Semantically transparent system: a system in which it is easy to see what the parts mean.

Brittleness: a property of a system that tends to fail dramatically when it encounters unexpected conditions. Contrasts with robustness or graceful degradation.

Reading
Orienting questions and issues to keep in mind:
What does the Physical Symbol System Hypothesis expect to be true about intelligence? What are the three key components of PSS inspired AI?

In what way do the phenomena of everyday coping present a challenge to PSS inspired AI?

Why is it important to consider how the nervous system works while thinking about ways to model psychological function?

This chapter introduces an analogy: that mindware is to the brain as software is to the computer. What are the other elements of this analogy? In what ways is this analogy useful? Where does it break down?