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The Society of Mind [Paperback]

Marvin Minsky (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For some artificial intelligence researchers, Minsky's book is too far removed from hard science to be useful. For others, the high-level approach of The Society of Mind makes it a gold mine of ideas waiting to be implemented. The author, one of the undisputed fathers of the discipline of AI, sets out to provide an abstract model of how the human mind really works. His thesis is that our minds consist of a huge aggregation of tiny mini-minds or agents that have evolved to perform highly specific tasks. Most of these agents lack the attributes we think of as intelligence and are severely limited in their ability to intercommunicate. Yet rational thought, feeling, and purposeful action result from the interaction of these basic components. Minsky's theory does not suggest a specific implementation for building intelligent machines. Still, this book may prove to be one of the most influential for the future of AI.

From Publishers Weekly

Minsky, cofounder of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, is a charter member of the community of AI pioneers committed to understanding the workings of the human mind and mimicking its processes by computer. Here he takes his place as this generation's Buckminster Fullera revered seminal thinker whose depth and originality sometimes place him out of reach for many. But Minsky's difference is his style: he writes aphoristically, with wit and precision, and makes the most of his perception that the mind learns by images, which perform as agents that connect, interact and even "censor" in a staggeringly subtle "society" of microprocedures. This holistic view of the mind's learning stages is the culmination of Minsky's study, and its insights into the developing world of computers-as-machines are matched by paradoxically intuitive glimpses of the growth of a sense of "self" through introspection, short- and long-term memory, mind-frames utilizing pictures and language. Minsky's creative terminology for freshly perceived mental processes is a major contribution to the future of mind-science. Illustrated. Major ad/promo; Macmillan Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Pages Bent edition (March 15, 1988)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671657135
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671657130
  • Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #69,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Marvin Minsky
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Customer Reviews

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75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Highly original...will make you "think out of the box"., July 4, 2001
By Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Society of Mind (Paperback)
In this book the author attempts to explain the workings of the human mind as a collection of a large number of autonomous mindless connected agents. The approach is metaphorical/philosophical, and no empirical evidence is given for the ideas expounded. The "society of mind", composed as it is of a collection of simple objects, is purely reductionist in its strategy and philosophy. It is though a highly original and thought provoking introduction to the major questions involving mental states, concept formation in the brain, learning theory, and artificial intelligence. The author gives many interesting examples that entice the reader to "think out of the box".

The book itself is written as though each chapter were itself one of these agents. Typically a chapter poses a question or a particular phenomenon, and the author then addresses how the mind would implement of resolve this question or deal with this phenomenon. Some interesting chapters in the book include:

1. Self-Knowledge is Dangerous: The author argues that mental constraints are needed to prevent the individual from artificially creating emotional states that would prevent deliberate action on our part. An intelligent machine will then need to have such constraints in order to prevent it from repeating endlessly the same activity.

2. Learning from Failure: Minsky argues that confining oneself to positive learning experiences will not be as robust or effective as one that will involve some kind of discomfort or pain. Such discomfort will enable more radical changes in conceptual structure.

3. Power of Negative Thinking: The author argues that an optimistic problem-solving strategy is contingent on the ability to recognize several paths to the solution, with the best path then selected. When such knowledge is not available, a "pessimistic" strategy is more optimal. The solution in this case is one that at first glance seems the worst possible avenue of approach.

4. Emotion: The question is posed as to whether machines can be intelligent without any emotions. The author seems to be arguing, and plausibly I think, that emotions serve as a defense against competing interests when a goal is set. Emotional responses occur when the most important goal(s) are disrupted by other influences. Intelligent machines then will need to have the many complex checks and balances.

5. Must Machines be Logical: It is argued correctly that intelligent machines must employ reasoning tools other then ones that are strictly logical. Logic is strictly a side constraint, a test that prevents invalid conclusions. It cannot by itself lead to genuine knowledge.

6. Mathematics Made Hard: Minsky argues that the strategy behind the construction of mathematical systems, via strict definitions and categorization, results in systems that have very small "meaning" content. More robust systems must be developed and integrated into the educational process and into any design for intelligent machines.

7. Weighing Evidence: There is an interesting example of a collection of four index cards on two of which are connected line patterns, and on the other two disconnected line patterns. When the cards are cut into many pieces, and put into separate piles, then a machine with a feature weighing capability would be unable to distinguish between the piles.

8. The Mind and the World: The author's thinking on the mind-body problem is a very sensible one, namely that "minds are simply what brains do". It matters not, according to the author, what the substance of mind (brain) is, only what it (the agents) do.

A few omissions in the book include the discussion on intelligence: the author never really gives his outlook or "definition" of intelligence, but merely comments on a few other opinions on this concept. If one is to make "intelligent" machines, it is important that intelligence be characterized explicitly so that one will know when and if the goal of artificial intelligence has been reached. The author correctly argues however that expert systems can and have been successfully constructed, and that the most formidable obstacle to constructing an "intelligent" machine is in implementing the ability of humans to exercise "common sense".

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40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all-time important books, June 16, 1998
This review is from: The Society of Mind (Paperback)
This book does more to explain the fundamental structure of the human mind than all the volumes of developmental psychology that I've read. In a step-by-step process, Minsky constructs a believable thesis for a way in which the human mind in all its complexity can be built up, layer by layer, from the interactions of "agents", functional subroutines. Some agents are hard-wired by evolution and some are learned. The learned ones stay in consciousness only while they are being built and then become the substrate for higher-level constructs. "The Society of Mind" had shaped the way I look at consciousness.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ingenious, April 16, 2001
This review is from: The Society of Mind (Paperback)
I have been reading many books concerened with artificial intelligence and the mind during the past years. Many of them drift off into endless philosophy, or get into too much psychological analysis.

Compared to other books out there, this one is easy to read, and is deeply inspiring. Chapters are concise, and comprehendible. I would recommend this book to anybody who is new to AI and overall theories of the mind.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, enlightening and mind boggling!
Minsky offers a super intelligent model of the human brain/mind in simple and accessible language and addresses some of philosophy's oldest riddles with ease and smoothness. Read more
Published 6 months ago by R. Halperin

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Society of Mind
This book is full of very original ideas, from a very original thinker. The computer science concepts are treated very differently from any other comp sci author I've seen before... Read more
Published 9 months ago by June Massoud

5.0 out of 5 stars Theory of the mind, by Minsky, what else to say?
The book provides several kind of falsifiable (perhaps some are too abstract) theories and hypothesis floating around the book, but don't worry, Minsky is well aware of how... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Eduardo Bellani

4.0 out of 5 stars Agents and Emergence before it was popular.
This book by one of the most important pioneers in artificial intelligence was ahead of its time.

It deals with a society of agents that interact with each other,... Read more
Published on June 17, 2008 by William J. Romanos

5.0 out of 5 stars need more input....
Incredible. Although it came out in the 80's this book contains thoughtful insights and excellent ideas that will help spur the imagination of anyone interested in how the human... Read more
Published on May 20, 2008 by A. Christen

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple agents and the human mind
According to Marvin Minsky the mind is composed of a collection of simple objects, agents. Working together these agents creates our mind. Read more
Published on April 11, 2008 by Simon Laub

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding how the mind works
This is a very unusual book. 270 chapters of one page grouped under 30 headings. Minsky tries to figure out how the mind works, by splitting what it does in one page very... Read more
Published on October 13, 2007

5.0 out of 5 stars a very interesting book
This is a strange book, when i start read it i was astonished about the book organization. There are a lot of brief chapter that introduce the arguments. Read more
Published on September 24, 2007 by Granatella Giampiero

5.0 out of 5 stars The emotional brain
1. Study what seems least
2. Agents are the components of a system that give the system agency
3. Machines behave in a lifeless manner
4. Read more
Published on January 23, 2007 by Golden Lion

4.0 out of 5 stars Cornucopia of Ideas
This book is different from other books on many different levels.

For instance, its organization parallels its subject. Read more
Published on November 18, 2006 by Meir Ben David

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