AW-A2G318.. V11, n 1 L ,a ~~~~ rCrLU~ ~bbt5 05 V a 0 0 10 4.0 A %p 4 1P egO C P Ptile Rer: ue Fro Bst.viabeCp J W MR N O OA5MN Mind Matters Contributions to Cognitive and Computer Science in Honor of Allen Newell Accesion For NTIS CRA&I OTIC TAB U; ,annouiiced EL ,,J o 'st iif c ,ta i o n ._ By Dist. ibution, Availability Codes Avail andIor Dist Special 25-27 October 1992 published by The School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 \k 93-08707 V 1i111W 93 4 22 04 "I want to welcome our Carnegie Mellon family and those of you that have travelled long distances to be with us today ...to a celebration of the life of an extraordinary man. A scientist who achieved world-wide renown for his work. A man whose personal warmth and generosity touched each colleague and student with whom he worked. A man who was a mentor to a large number of us... and one who had a profound influence, not only on the field of computer science, but on the College of Computer Science here at Carnegie Mellon University. An influence that will be felt for many, many decades to come..." -Robert Mehrabian, President, CarnegieM ellon University Contents Welcome to the Symposium: Mind Matters Allen Newell 7 Thoughts on the Symposium Tom Mitchell, Jill Fain Lehman, David Steier 13 Schedule of Events 26-27 October 992 1 19 Distinguished Speakers Profiles in Order of Presentation 29 Discussants Profiles in Order of Presentation 33 Demonstrations Descriptions and Locations 37 What is Soar The Soar Grout 39 We Remember Herbert A. Simon, Richard Lewis, Raj Reddy, Jill Fain Lehman, Bonnie E. John, John E. Laird, Paul Rosenbloom, Stuart K. Card, David Klahr, A. Nico Habermann, Paul Allen Newell 61 Fairy Tales Allen Newell 65 Discovery-Integration Processes for Breaks In the spirit of Allen Newell - Enjoy the breaks cognitively 73 Map Oakland Vicinity 76 With Gratitude (cid:2)4A(cid:2) - F * (cid:2) A (cid:2) -(cid:2) II t L I? -4 * F" -(cid:2).------ -(cid:2) jT(cid:2) -tr-t - (cid:2)4 a etA, F **(cid:2)(cid:2) *-(cid:2)' -(cid:2) a tS(cid:2) V I N. F, A-t-.'z.Fi* - * 0 if p S I * -'St 7 (cid:2) 9 4, St <S - . -; . 4 ,.' I - # h - 4rbt't . A A 1' 5 '\(cid:2) - , ;(cid:2)*..t - *> -(cid:2) . , 5.-s - c"' -. - - _ -(cid:2) - Invitation to the Symposium: Mind Matters Allen Newell I invite you to my Symposium on Mind Matters. the modem concern for contextualism, her- No, no, that can't be right. I invite you to your sym- meneutics and the social determination of meaning posium. No, that's not quite right either, if truth be has its point, but is a mere footnote to the massive told. I invite you to my friends' symposium. It is evidence for this view of science. The overwhelm- my friends who thought it up; my friends who are ing success within this framework of modern biol- giving the papers; my friends who are making the ogy over the last half century has provided another commentaries; my friends who are doing the work major confirmation, if one is needed. Someday we to make it happen. And it is my friends, by and will get another striking confirmation from cog- large, who qre the audience. (Welcome nonfriends nitive science. Though it can be argued that we are all, if you happen to stray this way.) It is perhaps a well on our way, we still have an immense distance little weird for he who is honored to be issuing the to go. Arguments are no match for the evidence invitations. But among friends, anything is pos- that cognitive science does not control its subject sible. matter the way physics, chemistry and now biology My friends also invented the title of the Sym- do. posium - Mind Matters They believe I know what It follows for me that a theory of mind is embodied that means, so am the right person to tell you why in our theory of matter. Matter matters to mind. that title captures the spirit of this Occasion exactly. To put it yet another way, the great scientific ques- I shall try, though it is clearly an exercise in projec- tion about mind is how it can occur in our physical tion. universe as understood by the all enveloping scien- I am by imprinting a physical scientist. That's what tific view. This is not reductionism - I'll take in my undergraduate days as a physics major at Stan- any way it comes. Indeed, the modem computa- ford did to me. That, plus a father who was a tional view of mind, with its solutions to represen- Professor of Radiology at Stanford Medical School tation and intention, is distinctly not a simple and who idolized the physical sciences. With the reduction. hubris common to physicists, I have always felt But it also is true of me that mind matters. What is that I have known what good science is - it is the nature of mind is the great scientific question.... theory cast in terms of mechanisms that describe I have pursued these matters since the fifties, in how parts of the universe behave. With sometimes concert and colleagueship with many scientific immense historical delay, these mechanisms al- friends along the way. From my own personal ways move towards being grounded in the larger viewpoint this has been an immensely cumulative mechanistic view of the universe. Theories always trip, in which the pieces of the scientific puzzle propose a view of how the universe is. They can gradually, though hardly completely, have never be effectively argued to be true, but only be revealed themselves. Many in psychology, never brought before the bar of empirical evidence. All having experienced cumulative predictive science, 5 6 see it somewhat otherwise, with new paradigms About ten years ago, in concert with John Laird and new questions moving to centerstage simply and Paul Rosenbloom, tiiattt'rs seemed to come shifting the focus without cumulation. It has never together. seemed that way to me, though I have on occasion criticized cognitive psychology for the manner in -- ~ato i nrdcint h which it fails to progress theoretically. Adftfitjtrditoh Mind Matters SYMPOSI~UMu 26 Mayl 1992 AVt Allen Newel] Welcome Tom Mitchell When a number of us began, over a year ago, to So welcome, on behalf of all of Allen's friends and plan an event to honor Allen Newell and his many colleagues, to Mind Matters. Thanks on their be- contributions, we asked each other what form the half to my co-organizers for their efforts, to our dis- event should take. A panel of speakers to pay tinguished speakers for their presentations, to tribute to Allen? Absolutely not! Allen would not Maya Design for donating their design talent to stand for that. His interests lay in the science, not this project, and to the National Science Foundation in tribute. That's it - a scientific symposium. The and Office of Naval Research for their support of most fitting way to honor a man such as Allen - to this symposium. May you take advantage of the celebrate the science that he practiced with such in- next few days to participate in the science - sight and passion, and to celebrate his great in- Allen's science, and the science of many others - fluence on it through the presentations of eminent and to reflect on the fact that one person can indeed scientists who worked with him over the years. have a tremendous influence on the lives and un- What would be the topic? That was easy. For derstanding of so many. Allen's career formed a decades-long journey driven by a single, fundamental question: "what is the nature of mind?" From his early work with Shaw and Simon on automated reasoning, to his most recent work attempting to build a computer "Psychology has arrived at the possibility of model of human cognition in Soar, the question unified theories of cognition-theories that that most fascinated Allen was how the mind gain their power by positing a single system of worked. Hence this symposium on Mind Matters. mechanisms that operate together to produce In it, you will hear about the kinds of scientific the full range of human cognition. I do not say questions and theories that occupied much of they are here. But they are within reach and we Allen's intellectual life. You will hear it from lead- should strive to attain them." ing scientists, each of whom has made their own seminal contributions to this scientific puzzle, and -Unified Theories of Cognition, each of whom has had the honor of working closely Allen Newell, 1990 with Allen at some point along the way. You will hear it also from Allen's colleagues or. the Soar project, who will provide commentary on each of these presentations. No doubt as you listen you will hear Allen's influence on the ideas, and Allen's enthusiasm for getting at the truth. 7 8 Words for Thought... 1mind \'mind\ n (ME, fr. OE gemynd; akin to OHG 1matter V'mat-er\ n [ME matere, fr. OF, fr. L materia mat- gimunt memory; both fr. a prehistoric EGmc- ter, physical substance, fr. materd I a : a subject WGmc compound whose first constituent is under consideration b : a subject of disagreement represented by OE ge- (perfective prefix) and or litigation c pl : the events or circumstances of a whose second constituent is akin to L ment-, mens particular situation d : the elements that con- mind, monere to remind, warn, Gk menos spirit, stitute material for treatment in thought, dis- mnasthai, minmeskesthai to remember - more at course, or writing e . an element of a field of CO-] 1 : RECOLLECTION. MEMORY <keep that in -> knowledge, inquiry, or specialization <-s of faith> <time out of -> 2 a : the element or complex of f : something to be proved in law g obs : sensible elements in an individual that feels, perceives, or serious material as distinguished from non- thinks, wills, and esp. reasons b : the conscious sense or drollery h (1) obs : REASON, CAUSE (2) : mental events and capabilities in an organism c : source esp. of feeling or emotion i : a condition the organized conscious and unconscious adap- affecting a person or thing usu. unfavorably tive mental activity of an organism 3: INTENTION, <what's the -> 2 a : the substance of which a DESIRE <she changed her -> 4 : the normal or physical object is composed b : material substance healthy condition of the mental faculties 5 : that occuoies space and has weight, that con- OPINION, VIEW 6: DISPOSITION, MOOD 7 a : a per- stitutes the observable universe, and that together son or group embodying mental qualities <the with energy forms the basis of objective public -> b : intellectual ability 8 cap, Christian phenomena c : a material substance of a particular Science : GOD lb 9 : a conscious substratum or fac- kind or for a particular purpose <vegetable -> d: tor in the universe material discharged from the human body 3 a 2mind vt 1 chiefly dial ; REMIND 2 chiefly dial : REMEMBER the indeterminate subject of reality; esp : the ele- 3:tmaIttncd chiefltyo s;dReElMyI ND2 chief ia Rment in the universe that undergoes formation 3 : to attend to closely 4 a : to become aware of: and alteration b : the formless substratum of all NOTICE b chiefly dial : INTEND, PURPOSE 5 a : to things which exists only potentially and upon give heed to attentively in order to obey b : to which form acts to produce realities 4 : a more or follow the orders of instructions of 6 a: to be con- less definite amount or quantity <a - of 10 years> cerned about b : DISLIKE <1 don't ~ going> 7 a : to 5 a: something written or printed b (1) : set type be careful : SEE <- you finish it> b : to be cautious (2) : text material esp. as distinguished from il- about <-the broken ring> 8 : to give protective lustrations 6 : MAIL 7 Christian Science : the il- care to : TEND - vi 1 : to be attentive or wary 2 : lusion that the objects perceived by the physical to become concerned : CARE 3 : to pay obedient senses have the reality of substance - for that heed or attention syn see OBEY, TEND -- mind-er n matter : so far as that is concerned - no matter : without regard to : irrespective of <was calm no matter what the provocation> 2matter vi 1 : to be of importance : SIGNIFY Words From a Friend Jill Fain Lehman When we sat down to consider how to organize this symposium we confronted a difficult problem Approached from an historical perspective, Allen's career has been characterized by its breadth. Focussing on the last ten years, however, his all- WHEN DOES A SCIENTIFIC LIFE START? consuming passion (other than the Steelers) has been Soar. Granted, a Soar symposium might have Maxim-The scientific problem chooKses you, been a welcome relief to the Soar community you don't choo~seit (released at last from the strictures of twelve minute presentations), but to the community at Not at age 17-When I wanted to be a forest ranger large it would have seemed at best parochial, at worst a criminal waste of an opportunity to honor Not at age 19--When I wanted to be "a scientist" breadth with breadth. How, then, to satisfy the Not at age 22- When I wanted to be an optical engineer desires of the honorers while creating more than a diversion for the honoree? Not at age 27-When I wanted to be an organizational scientist A compromise was reached (it remains to be sen if But at age 27.7--On a Fri afternoon in mid Nov 1954 it was a workable one). Speakers would be invited to give talks in areas spanning the full historical spectrum of Allen's career. Their only respon- sibility would be to do good science, while the -Desires and Diversions responsibility for relating the speakers' ideas to A. Newell, December 1991 Soar would rest on discussants drawn from the Soar community. Those of us on the committee who were also members of the Soar project ap- plauded the ingenuity of this solution. We could, no doubt, rely on Allen to be the first and best dis- cussant for each paper, jumping in and finding any commonalities we failed to notice. Now while it is true that Allen won't be here here to help unify the seemingly disparate cognitions of our speakers and discussants, in retrospect I do not think that had we known he would be absent we would have changed our design. For the ideas will be presented, the science will continue, and links to Soar will be forged. And that is almost as good. 9