Chapter 1

Question 1

Formal Games

Answer 1

• using chess as an example
• illustrates 2 properties of any infomation processor: a data structure - which is a memory for storing different types of symbols a
• rules or operations - used to manipulate the symbols in the data structure
• control - information processor to apply its rule in a particular order to accomplish
• structure, process, control
• information processing is rule-governed symbol manipulation, it is like playing a formal game

Question 2

Form and Function

Answer 2

• chess piece illustrate a many-to-one relationship
• different things all belong to the same type
• idea of functionalism

Question 3

The Formalist’s Motto

Answer 3

• manipulate representations - symbols with meanings, symbols referring to things in the world
• formal games are analogous to a syntax
• semantics - describe a sentence’s meaning ; when a symbol represents meaning by referring to something in the world, we call the symbol intentional
• Franz Brentano - itentionality to dinguish the physical from the mental; separating syntax from semantics
• Noam Chomsky example “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” - meaningless setneces can still be grammatical
• ex. mathematical symbols represent meanings, symbols to represent real-world properties ( mathematical operations perserve meanings)
• formal operation preserves meanings, even though it does not understand them
• Philosopher John Haugeland - dual properties: symbol shape or form and symbol’s meaning
• take care of the syntax and the semantics will take care itself

Question 4

Demonstrating the Formalist’s Motto

Answer 4

• Alan Turning - Turning machine
• machine head for manipulating the symbols on the ticker tape; has machine state (indicate its current physical condition) , machine table (manipulating the ticker tape’s content)
• the machine head contains formal operations
• the runing machine takes care of the syntax only. while the ticker tape’s semantics takes care of itself

Question 5

A universal machine

Answer 5

• Turing; universal turing machine - pretending to be any other turning machine
• ticker tape holds diff info; writes the to-be-answered question; universal machine pretneds to be; temporary memory (scratchpad)
• it can answer any question that a modern computer can answer

Question 6

Why is the turing machine important?

Answer 6

• it provided the essential foundation for modern computers: structure; process; control
• modern computers cannot answer any question that they are not mre powerful
• cognition can be described with universal turing machien

Question 7

The Modern Computer

Answer 7

• idea that machines cnould achieve human-like intelligence
• Arthur Samuel developed the first checkers program
• computers also produced intelligent behaviour outside the realm of games
• formal manipulation of symbols permits machines to behave intelligently = symbol manipulation also underlies human intelligence

Question 8

Explaing how computers process information

Answer 8

• computational level of anaylsis - “what info processing problem is the computer solving?”
• algorithmic level of analysis - sequence of operations for accomplishing a task, explains its behaviour by describing the program being executed
• architectural level of analysis - properties built into a computer to process info; primitive functions
• implementational level of anaysis - “how do physical mechanisms produce the primitive operations used to manipulate symbols?”
• pblm being solved, algorithm is being used, which basic opertions make up the algorithm and which physical mechanisms being primitive operations to life

Question 9

A hierarchy of Levels

Answer 9

• different algorithms can solve the same problem: idea of many-to-one relationship
• one architecture can be implemented by many different physical implementations, many different architectures can be used to program one algorithm, and many differnent algorithms can carry out the same computation

Question 10

Explaining Human Cognition

Answer 10

• explained through computers
• rule-governed manipulation
• formalists motto - take care syntax and semantics will take of itself
• structure, processing and control
• computational, algorithmic, architectural and implementational
• black box