The Mechanics of Thought 1

Abstract

This chapter introduces a way of thinking about very complex problem solving. A computing system is of little value to a user unless there is some way to issue commands to the machinery. In order to do this there must be a language in which the user can state what is to be done, and which can then be translated, by some automated process, into a sequence of elementary machine operations. Real-time computing systems often refer to data banks in order to determine how to handle a current request for services. The organization and modification of long-term memory is clearly a central topic in psychology, but it cannot be said that research has shed a great deal of light on the problem. Means-end analysis is inherently tied to the propositional form of data representation. Subproblem generation might use either an image or propositional notation. Clearly the distinction between image and proposition is important for computer problem solving.