The society of mind
by Marvin Minsky · first published 1986
39% recommend59% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Big-picture account of the mind as a colony of many simple, semi-independent agents working together. Readable and idea-rich, it suits those curious about AI, cognition, and multi-agent systems.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
An authority on artificial intelligence introduces a theory that explores the workings of the human mind and the mysteries of thought.
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…background I think, and partly from his personality). You might get some perspective from looking at his last book "Mind and Nature". And, in many ways, much more powerful looks at "mind" are Minsky's "Society of Mind" and "The Emotion Machine". There is also Kahneman's "Thinking: Fast and Slow" more recently ...
on “Alan Kay's reading list” ↗…critical here but with good reason, this is like going shopping at the philosophy store and just buying candy. It comes off as blatantly anti reason in places too. Read Epictetus, Aurelieus, Minsky (Society of Mind), GEB, even Thoreau. Get inside your thinking machine. Feelings are okay. Thinking is okay. Orient around what you will create. Learn to meditate a little. Read Tolle if you are set on it, but I say most…
on “Hedge Fund Is Building an Algorithmic Model From Its Employees’ Brains” ↗At a more general level, you may find the book Society of the Mind interesting ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Mind ). In this, Minsky proposes simple (mindless) agents that then are combined together to form a mind. That our mind is interacting with the world and launching agents to deal with things - that our own…
on “Where will artificial general intelligence come from?” ↗…don't understand'. ADHD and the rest of the DSM will be viewed in the future with the same amount of credibility as we give to the Salem Witch Trials. If you want some real science, check out Minsky's Society of Mind and Hawkins' 1,000 Brains for starters.
on “27 Genetic Variants Linked to ADHD” ↗…before writing this paper ? What kind of stuff influenced you ? I would be curious to know how much you read about psychology, behaviorism, neuroscience etc. before writing the paper. Read minsky's books. Society of Mind and Emotion Machine. These are the most comprehensive overview to AI/computational psychology. EM's got a lot of stuff about 'consciousness' and what it means to be relatively conscious. I like that you…
on “My Naive Attempt at Making an Artificial Being” ↗…by a hacker himself! If you'd like a very excellent, fascinating title on mathematics and art and mind, try "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Hofstadter. Another fun, classical book with more of an AI bend is "Society of Mind" by Marvin Minsky. For more classical neuroscience, "Phantoms of the Brain" by Ramachandran, well-known in perception research, is good. I haven't read it, but "In Search of Memory" is supposed to be…
on “Ask HN: What is a good introduction to neuroscience?” ↗…I might take this claim more seriously. The problem is not that psychology is not a science. The problem is that psychology has not had its Einstein yet. Well, actually it has: Marvin Minsky and his Society of Mind. Unfortunately, not enough other psychologists have listened to him. Yet.
on “Will There Ever Be Another Scientific Genius?” ↗Take a look at Marvin Minsky's The Society of Mind. Consciousness as an emergent property of the communication between simple agents is a large arm of cognitive science. http://www.amazon.com/The-Society-Mind-Marvin-Minsky/dp/0671...
on “Ants Build Complex Structures With a Few Simple Rules” ↗The Emperor’s New Mind, Penrose. The Mind's I: Fantasies And Reflections On Self & Soul, Hofstadter and Dennet. The Society of Mind, Minsky. Martin Gardner. http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G/ref=sr_ntt... Donald Knuth. http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G/ref=sr_ntt... Things a Computer Scientist Rarely…
on “Ask HN: What recreational books related to programming can you recommend?” ↗…of many components, each attuned to a different purpose and context. And now we better recognize the huge need for learning, both for initial skill acquisition and for lifelong thereafter. Minsky's "Society of Mind" is probably a better illustration of how AI will evolve (if not manifest), as well as how it must integrate with our myriad collective needs and personal lives.
on “Why human intelligence and AI will co-evolve” ↗…Douglas Engelbart - http://www.dougengelbart.org/library/library.html Glasshouse - Charles Stross Permutation City - Greg Egan Neuromancer - William Gibson The Shockwave Rider - John Brunner The Society of Mind - Marvin Minsky The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What it Means for Business and Society - Eric Beinhocker The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb Fooled By Randomness - Nassim…
on “Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read?” ↗Minsky's Society of Mind would be a good launching off point. Other than that particularly famous example, I would just check out any of the authors of the papers in that link. This class fulfills a communication requirement…
on “Artificial Intelligence Lecture Videos” ↗I don't know for sure, and I doubt anybody does... but I suspect something like this will play a key role in developing AGI. I've been really inspired by Marvin Minsky's "Society of Mind" theory[1] as well as Multi-Agent Systems[2] and the old Blackboard Architecture[3] approach, and have been doing some experimenting with that stuff. And like you, I'm really intrigued by Hinton's CapsuleNets…
on “Ask HN: Can AGI Be Achieved Through Modular Neural Networks?” ↗Marv Minsky wrote a book that explores this idea. "The Society of Mind". I don't think it is "correct" but it is a model and interesting. Recommend reading it.
on “The Brain’s “Inner GPS” Creates Conceptual Spaces in the Mind” ↗…are a few interesting quotes from him: “By all means, please take a look at my colleague Bret Victor's ideas -- he is one of the two or three strongest thinkers to emerge since Engelbart.” + “Minsky's "Society of Mind" (and the later "The Emotion Machine") are still very good evokers of what needs to be done. (It is generally more complex that most people would like to think and do).”
on “Computer Software (1984)” ↗