Situated Cognition
On Human Knowledge and Computer Representations

This 1997 book examines recent changes in the design of intelligent machines which afford heightened interactivity with the environment.

William J. Clancey (Author)

9780521448710, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 August 1997

428 pages, 42 b/w illus. 16 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 2.5 cm, 0.585 kg

This 1997 book examines recent changes in the design of intelligent machines. New computer models of vision and navigation in animals suggest a different way to build machines. Cognition is viewed not just in terms of high-level 'expertise,' but in the ability to find one's way around the world, to learn new ways of seeing things, and to coordinate activity. This approach is called situated cognition. Situated Cognition differs from other purely philosophical treatises in that Clancey, an insider who has built expert systems for twenty years, explores the limitations of existing computer programs and compares them to human memory and learning capabilities. Clancey examines the implications of 'situated action' from the perspective of artificial intelligence specialists interested in building robots.

Part I. Representations and Memory: 1. Aaron's drawing
2. Mycin's map
3. Remembering controversies
4. Sensorimotor maps vs. encodings
Part II. Situated Robots: 5. Navigating without reading maps
6. Perceiving without describing
7. Remembering without matching
8. Engineering transactional systems
Part III. Ecological Theories: 9. Transactional experience
10. Dialectic mechanism
11. Ecological psychology
12. Couplin vs. inference
13. The varieties of symbol systems
14. Reformulated dilemmas
15. Conclusions: lessons for cognitive science.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]