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Models of My Life
In this candid and witty autobiography, Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon looks at his distinguished and varied career, continually asking himself whether (and how) what he learned as a scientist helps to explain other aspects of his life. A brilliant polymath in an age of increasing specialization, Simon is one of those rare scholars whose work defines fields of inquiry. Crossing disciplinary lines in half a dozen fields, Simon's story encompasses an explosion in the information sciences, the transformation of psychology by the information-processing paradigm, and the use of computer simulation for modeling the behavior of highly complex systems. Simon's theory of bounded rationality led to a Nobel Prize in economics, and his work on building machines that think—based on the notion that human intelligence is the rule-governed manipulation of symbols—laid conceptual foundations for the new cognitive science. Subsequently, contrasting metaphors of the maze (Simon's view) and of the mind (neural nets) have dominated the artificial intelligence debate. There is also a warm account of his successful marriage and of an unconsummated love affair, letters to his children, columns, a short story, and political and personal intrigue in academe.
415 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 6, 2019
This was a terrific read. I only wished I would have had access to the book 35 years ago when I embarked on my engineering degree. It would have given me a much more strategic perspective on scientific pursuits and I would have been incentivised to aim for higher levels of excellence.
Herbert Simon’s autobiography feels like a masterclass in the presence of an incredibly sharp and inquisitive mind. The narrative voice is fluid, purposeful, engaging, and not without humour. Whether he is expounding on specific research problems or on university politics, the story moves deftly foreward.
Simon projects the defining metaphor that guided his research on his own life. The complexity of the world exceeds our mental faculties. There is no way in which we can navigate our path as rational utility optimizers, as classical economists would have it. Instead, in confrontation with the uncertainties and goal conflicts of everday life, we are faced with ‘bounded rationality’ and we follow a strategy of ‘heuristic search’ through the maze. There are innumerable branching points. We don’t know what the ‘best’ trajectory is. We need to make our way as mere ‘satisficers’
“In describing my life, I have situated it in a labyrinth of paths that branch, in a castle of innumerable rooms. The life is in the moving through that garden or castle, experiencing surprises along the paths you follow, wondering (but not too solemnly) where the other paths would have led: a heuristic search for the solution of an ill-structured problem. If there are goals, they do not so much guide the search as emerge from it. It needs no summing up beyond the living it.”
Simon was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987, at a point when the discipline had moved to the periphery of his research interests. He started out in political science, branched into organisational decision making and eventually came to reframe his research agenda as a study of the human faculty of problem solving and discovery. He was one of the first to grasp and exploit the potential of the computer to elucidate human cognition in terms of symbol processing. As a result, cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence became the key axes along which is his intellectual pursuits unfolded.
Simon has struck some readers as cold and calculating. I find his worldview offers a most attractive blend of humanism and scientific rigor:
“How do you put duty in a utility function? For a satisficing theory it’s quite easy: Simply place it among the constraints. Of course, we may also view duty as a cost we pay for society’s willingness to cooperate with us. This implies that every person has a price. Possibly so, but I prefer the satisficing view. What duties would I impose? Starting at the weak end of the spectrum, there is general acceptance of the duty not to harm others - the negative version of the Golden Rule. A higher, and not unreasonable standard is the obligation to leave the world no worse off than it would have been without us. (…) A still heavier obligation, not always acknowledged, is to leave to future generations as wide and interesting a range of options as our generation inherited from our forebears (…) We have no obligation to solve all the world’s problems (there is no prospect that we could); we do have an obligation to avert irreversible catastrophe and to oppose implacably every step toward it.”
Herbert Simon’s autobiography feels like a masterclass in the presence of an incredibly sharp and inquisitive mind. The narrative voice is fluid, purposeful, engaging, and not without humour. Whether he is expounding on specific research problems or on university politics, the story moves deftly foreward.
Simon projects the defining metaphor that guided his research on his own life. The complexity of the world exceeds our mental faculties. There is no way in which we can navigate our path as rational utility optimizers, as classical economists would have it. Instead, in confrontation with the uncertainties and goal conflicts of everday life, we are faced with ‘bounded rationality’ and we follow a strategy of ‘heuristic search’ through the maze. There are innumerable branching points. We don’t know what the ‘best’ trajectory is. We need to make our way as mere ‘satisficers’
“In describing my life, I have situated it in a labyrinth of paths that branch, in a castle of innumerable rooms. The life is in the moving through that garden or castle, experiencing surprises along the paths you follow, wondering (but not too solemnly) where the other paths would have led: a heuristic search for the solution of an ill-structured problem. If there are goals, they do not so much guide the search as emerge from it. It needs no summing up beyond the living it.”
Simon was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987, at a point when the discipline had moved to the periphery of his research interests. He started out in political science, branched into organisational decision making and eventually came to reframe his research agenda as a study of the human faculty of problem solving and discovery. He was one of the first to grasp and exploit the potential of the computer to elucidate human cognition in terms of symbol processing. As a result, cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence became the key axes along which is his intellectual pursuits unfolded.
Simon has struck some readers as cold and calculating. I find his worldview offers a most attractive blend of humanism and scientific rigor:
“How do you put duty in a utility function? For a satisficing theory it’s quite easy: Simply place it among the constraints. Of course, we may also view duty as a cost we pay for society’s willingness to cooperate with us. This implies that every person has a price. Possibly so, but I prefer the satisficing view. What duties would I impose? Starting at the weak end of the spectrum, there is general acceptance of the duty not to harm others - the negative version of the Golden Rule. A higher, and not unreasonable standard is the obligation to leave the world no worse off than it would have been without us. (…) A still heavier obligation, not always acknowledged, is to leave to future generations as wide and interesting a range of options as our generation inherited from our forebears (…) We have no obligation to solve all the world’s problems (there is no prospect that we could); we do have an obligation to avert irreversible catastrophe and to oppose implacably every step toward it.”
January 2, 2018
The surprisingly dull autobiography of a truly remarkable polymath who pioneered several important domains including AI and decision theory. An important lesson I learned from this book is that the simplest of tasks can have deep undiscovered complexity. Much of Simon’s breakthrough thinking seems to have happened as he tackled seemingly mundane administrative tasks, including coming up with the idea of bounded rationality. There are low hanging fruits of discovery everywhere for someone with a sufficiently open and creative mind.
Read
July 22, 2019As someone who's never read Simon's actual scientific work, I'm not sure quite how useful this was to me. I suppose my interest in his work is piqued... but as a memoir, there was just a bit too much academic politics (about the most tedious subject there is) and self-promotion along the lines of "then I, like, became a psychologist, and then I kinda became an economist." Sure, there's some good discussion on interdisciplinary progress and introspection about how social science is done, but on the whole, it was a bit of a wash.
February 21, 2019
Despite the rather dry writing style, I found this book engrossing. Herbert Simon won both the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Turing Award, and built a body of work that spanned public policy, political science, psychology, economics, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. This book documents his journey through the 'maze of life' — the central metaphor for decision making in his work — and details the backroom dealings and politics that make up the life of a scientist at the dawn of a cognitive revolution.
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
March 13, 2017
Liked:
Let me state the Travel Theorem precisely, and then say how I came to discover it. Theorem: Anythingp, . that can be learned by a normal American adult on a trip to a foreign country (of less than one year's'sduration) can be learned more quickly, cheaply, and easily by visiting the San Diego Public Library, , .San Diego is not essential; you can substitute any other major city
The phrase "open door" no doubt reminded most of the Chinese in my audience of the traditional proverb"" ,"If you open the door, the robbers enter, .
there is no consensus about the purpose of life. Mark Twain told a story of Siamese twins who agreed. upon alternating time slots during which one or the other would be in full charge. The story did not end. well: Both twins had reason to regret the murder one committed while he had control. But the absurdity of. the story is the human absurdity. Each of us "time-shares," alternating our many selves. Some parts of life. "-," . are spent in the enjoyment of music, others in the enjoyment of sex, yet others in the enjoyment of food, , ,leaving lots of time for the enjoyment of mountains, the enjoyment of friends, and, for some fortunate ones, , , of us, especially the enjoyment of science
And the Hugo-Apple story
Let me state the Travel Theorem precisely, and then say how I came to discover it. Theorem: Anythingp, . that can be learned by a normal American adult on a trip to a foreign country (of less than one year's'sduration) can be learned more quickly, cheaply, and easily by visiting the San Diego Public Library, , .San Diego is not essential; you can substitute any other major city
The phrase "open door" no doubt reminded most of the Chinese in my audience of the traditional proverb"" ,"If you open the door, the robbers enter, .
there is no consensus about the purpose of life. Mark Twain told a story of Siamese twins who agreed. upon alternating time slots during which one or the other would be in full charge. The story did not end. well: Both twins had reason to regret the murder one committed while he had control. But the absurdity of. the story is the human absurdity. Each of us "time-shares," alternating our many selves. Some parts of life. "-," . are spent in the enjoyment of music, others in the enjoyment of sex, yet others in the enjoyment of food, , ,leaving lots of time for the enjoyment of mountains, the enjoyment of friends, and, for some fortunate ones, , , of us, especially the enjoyment of science
And the Hugo-Apple story
March 16, 2019
I have enjoyed reading this book, especially because I am into research, and this makes it look so exciting. Starting from political science to economics, to artificial intelligence to cognitive psychology, it has been an amazing journey to read this autobiography. There have been parts which I have enjoyed so much, like the Apple short story, the initial years in college (Chicago) and also how he initially did research in administration. It has been a beautiful ride in someone's life, and sometimes I thought I was reading a work of fiction, his life is that interesting! --maybe because it reminds me so so much of the book -- Stoner, and this has been truly a very moving read.
November 10, 2017
This book is a bit of a monotonous read but I think I liked it that way. Herbert Simon is a self professed intellectual who was able to see the world, work at one of the best research universities in the U.S., and win a Nobel prize on the way. He does a good job of describing his childhood and the part where he describes his teaching strategies however brief was really great.
March 30, 2013
only took me about a year to finish
June 16, 2017
***** for the sections describing his life as a young scientist. **× for the other bits. ***× overall.
December 2, 2018
I can't say this was an exciting read but occasionally you find important life lessons sprinkled around (if you have the patience to stick around). For instance, he advised his research student to work on something that is not only important to be solved but also in an area where they have an edge over others in solving it. For Dr Simon, he was able to make use of his unique access to computers in those early days when other researchers do not, and that allowed him to discover new findings faster than others who may make the same discovery eventually. In life too, to succeed, we have to find our own advantages that put us more or less ahead of others if we were to achieve success.
His description of his ability to cross-over multiple fields during his academic career and various other accomplishments beyond academic circles also highlights the importance of being good, as well as knowing the right people to get your work noticed. When people knows that your work is good, you will be approached and asked to do it, without you begging for it. His honest chapter on his love life also speaks to his character for lying bare what could be for some an embarrassing episode in life.
But perhaps because he was a scientist and not a writer, the writing could be boring for some. So unless you are a fan of his and interested in knowing what are his principles for leading a fulfilling life, it may be good to skip this book.
His description of his ability to cross-over multiple fields during his academic career and various other accomplishments beyond academic circles also highlights the importance of being good, as well as knowing the right people to get your work noticed. When people knows that your work is good, you will be approached and asked to do it, without you begging for it. His honest chapter on his love life also speaks to his character for lying bare what could be for some an embarrassing episode in life.
But perhaps because he was a scientist and not a writer, the writing could be boring for some. So unless you are a fan of his and interested in knowing what are his principles for leading a fulfilling life, it may be good to skip this book.
November 7, 2021
The good: This is an autobiography by a highly intelligent and active researcher who spent his life thinking about human thinking. Thus, it is not surprising that throughout the text, we find intelligent observations about the nature of humans, of science, of politics, and more.
The bad: Herbert A. Simon has many, many strengths, but writing in an entertaining fashion is not one of them. The reader drowns in lists of names that are too numerous to be remembered, and in descriptions of activities that are described to superficially to be understood.
Thus, overall, I found the book definitely worth reading, but it was also hard work and took me a lot longer than anticipated.
The bad: Herbert A. Simon has many, many strengths, but writing in an entertaining fashion is not one of them. The reader drowns in lists of names that are too numerous to be remembered, and in descriptions of activities that are described to superficially to be understood.
Thus, overall, I found the book definitely worth reading, but it was also hard work and took me a lot longer than anticipated.
February 1, 2022
This book generally talks about Herbert' academic life. I found the stories and things he described was familiar to me, who has also been in a higher education institute for such a long time. However, I would say the book would be boring for people who do not like higher education and research stuff. Because this book was written in a more or less boring tongue.
August 3, 2022
I think the introduction and the afterword were my favourite parts. A totally interesting polymath. It could be a product of a writing style and period that didn't fire up my imagination but the positions in the university faculties were not interesting to me at all. I knew nothing of Herbert A. Simon previously and so this was a totally new field to enter.
December 31, 2023
This is an autobiography of a true polymath who has made enormous contributions to a wide range of fields including political science, public administration, economics, and artificial intelligence. Hebert Simon was the closest renaissance man the 20th century could have. A dense book documenting a fascinating life of mind.
July 6, 2018
An interesting, if self-serving biography of a mathematical modeler in economics and other fields as well. Wold have been a better book if Simon had taken the time to explain how he did his work and its implications rather than simply list his accomplishments
July 23, 2018
rather brief. quick read. very basic stuff.
July 22, 2019
Models mm
February 18, 2020
I think Prof. Simon's work is much insightful read. This is a dry autobiography which may appeal to a person aspiring for an academic career in the US.
October 18, 2021
Quit at around 50%
February 10, 2022
Simon is an excellent writer. This is one of the few books that I know I want to reread in the future.
June 6, 2022
A few good paragraphs scattered across the book (1.5/5).
Would not recommend.
Would not recommend.
February 6, 2023
Fascinating memoir of the life of a prominent social and computational scientist, interesting perspectives on information processing and artificial intelligence.
Read
June 7, 2023Boring
August 1, 2020
Overall the account has some real gems like Simon admitting that it was who he knew as much as what he discovered that got him a Nobel prize. Unfortunately much of the story is filled with boring acronym laden academic politics and analysis. If the reader is willing to sift through that, Simon gives brilliant first hand accounts of his life as a hard working ultra logical academic political genius who developed intellectually through the upheavals of World War II, the Cold War and founding of Carnegie Mellon business school. His long term pursuit to understand human decision making leads to him pushing boundaries in economics, psychology and pioneering artificial intelligence. Some other insights include:
1. One idea can lead to so many fields.
First off, I'm surprised his autobiography was not titled Mazes of my Life because the recurring theme is mazes and their meaning in decision making. What initially interested me in his biography was my constant lookout for a renaissance man type interdisciplinary thinker and even more a modern successful one. What kept me going was his honesty and how he reminded me of certain people I know.
2. A Father in Feedback Systems
Simon gives a forthright telling of his life events with the objectivity that helped make his thinking so logical. In his own words his youth did not show signs of anything particularly original which is a good reminder for parents who over or under stress their own children's talents. Although he did say he skipped grades and wrote an atheist letter which caused some controversy. His father was a leading engineer who exposed Herbert to industry and did new research in servo feedback designs although Herbert did not appreciate this until much later.
3. He knew 20 languages?
Mr. Simon claimed to know 6 languages well and that he could read up to 20. He definitely had a powerful brain and his work showed that, although he was also a self described workaholic. He successfully took on speaking assignments to large groups of local government leaders early in his 20's assigned by mentors. His career made as near seamless transition from academic graduate studies to a career in managing government as his professors recognized his abilities. His own experience teaching a wide variety of classes gave me a more realistic picture into the life of a professional university academic. The biggest critique on his dissertation and later in social and personal life were his lack of moral consideration and empathy which he disappointingly never quite seemed to fully grasp.
4. Its who you know even for Nobel Prizes
Mr. Simon's redeeming trait was his honesty which he exemplified in admitting had he not known the right people he likely would not have been given a Nobel prize. Similarly he recognizes collaboration was extremely important to his AI breakthroughs as he recruited a research team and gave them a location to work. If I understand it correctly his main thesis in economics was that surrounding forces influence people's decisions (what he called bounded rationality) more than their desire and ability to optimize happiness as 'neoclassical economists' believe. (I am grossly simplifying here). Although this is likely partially true I can see why it was unpopular as it is a lot easier and more natural to think of people making their own decisions to pursue their own happiness.
5. Discovering Artificial Intelligence was to prove someone wrong
The section of his book on conflict with other scientists shows that another major reason that he made his discoveries were to disprove those who said machines can't think or do things like solve geometry problems. This highlights one of the other most valuable insights of this book, his first hand perspectives on how science really happens. Discoveries come in brilliant brief moments of joy when a team is pulling together after long hours of following hunches and developing a taste for finding valuable research. They do not easily fit into neat categories requiring controlled variables. For Simon it was writing the program that helped bridge the gap between computing and thinking using symbols. Although his mind and training were tickets to the game it was in the end Simon's political abilities to recognize valuable problems and bring people together that allowed him to make a lasting contribution to human achievement.
1. One idea can lead to so many fields.
First off, I'm surprised his autobiography was not titled Mazes of my Life because the recurring theme is mazes and their meaning in decision making. What initially interested me in his biography was my constant lookout for a renaissance man type interdisciplinary thinker and even more a modern successful one. What kept me going was his honesty and how he reminded me of certain people I know.
2. A Father in Feedback Systems
Simon gives a forthright telling of his life events with the objectivity that helped make his thinking so logical. In his own words his youth did not show signs of anything particularly original which is a good reminder for parents who over or under stress their own children's talents. Although he did say he skipped grades and wrote an atheist letter which caused some controversy. His father was a leading engineer who exposed Herbert to industry and did new research in servo feedback designs although Herbert did not appreciate this until much later.
3. He knew 20 languages?
Mr. Simon claimed to know 6 languages well and that he could read up to 20. He definitely had a powerful brain and his work showed that, although he was also a self described workaholic. He successfully took on speaking assignments to large groups of local government leaders early in his 20's assigned by mentors. His career made as near seamless transition from academic graduate studies to a career in managing government as his professors recognized his abilities. His own experience teaching a wide variety of classes gave me a more realistic picture into the life of a professional university academic. The biggest critique on his dissertation and later in social and personal life were his lack of moral consideration and empathy which he disappointingly never quite seemed to fully grasp.
4. Its who you know even for Nobel Prizes
Mr. Simon's redeeming trait was his honesty which he exemplified in admitting had he not known the right people he likely would not have been given a Nobel prize. Similarly he recognizes collaboration was extremely important to his AI breakthroughs as he recruited a research team and gave them a location to work. If I understand it correctly his main thesis in economics was that surrounding forces influence people's decisions (what he called bounded rationality) more than their desire and ability to optimize happiness as 'neoclassical economists' believe. (I am grossly simplifying here). Although this is likely partially true I can see why it was unpopular as it is a lot easier and more natural to think of people making their own decisions to pursue their own happiness.
5. Discovering Artificial Intelligence was to prove someone wrong
The section of his book on conflict with other scientists shows that another major reason that he made his discoveries were to disprove those who said machines can't think or do things like solve geometry problems. This highlights one of the other most valuable insights of this book, his first hand perspectives on how science really happens. Discoveries come in brilliant brief moments of joy when a team is pulling together after long hours of following hunches and developing a taste for finding valuable research. They do not easily fit into neat categories requiring controlled variables. For Simon it was writing the program that helped bridge the gap between computing and thinking using symbols. Although his mind and training were tickets to the game it was in the end Simon's political abilities to recognize valuable problems and bring people together that allowed him to make a lasting contribution to human achievement.
December 27, 2020
Interesting and frank.
January 5, 2016
One of my heroes, Herb Simon was an amazing polymath: PhD in political science, Nobel prize in Economics, professor of Engineering, and most famous for his work in Artificial Intelligence. Ironically, as an autobiography, this book shows an idiosyncratic man out of touch with his human side. What a mind, though.
May 17, 2016
I was looking for more exposition on Simon's work on decision making and artificial intelligence. For someone who stated that his interests were research, he spends too much time describing academic politics, and seems to have enjoyed his triumphs more than he lets on.
Nevertheless, good as a source of some of the history of AI.
Nevertheless, good as a source of some of the history of AI.
May 15, 2022
Rating: Recommended
An in-depth look at all facets of a Nobel Prize winner and polymath’s life (in its entirety): his career, his work, his relationships, his beliefs, his values and his learning and teaching methods. A bit long-winded at times, but worth the read.
Extensive summary: https://jimbouman.com/models-of-my-li...
An in-depth look at all facets of a Nobel Prize winner and polymath’s life (in its entirety): his career, his work, his relationships, his beliefs, his values and his learning and teaching methods. A bit long-winded at times, but worth the read.
Extensive summary: https://jimbouman.com/models-of-my-li...
March 1, 2016
who else won both a Nobel prize and a Turing award?
Want to read
January 22, 2017Recomendado por Shane Parish
https://medium.com/the-mission/five-b...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews