Ecological Rationality: Intelligence in the World (Evolution and Cognition) - Hardcover

Todd, Peter M.; Gigerenzer, Gerd

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9780195315448: Ecological Rationality: Intelligence in the World (Evolution and Cognition)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0195315448 ISBN 13: 9780195315448
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

"More information is always better, and full information is best. More computation is always better, and optimization is best." More-is-better ideals such as these have long shaped our vision of rationality. Yet humans and other animals typically rely on simple heuristics to solve adaptive problems, focusing on one or a few important cues and ignoring the rest, and shortcutting computation rather than striving for as much as possible. In this book, we argue that in an uncertain world, more information and computation are not always better, and we ask when, and why, less can be more. The answers to these questions constitute the idea of ecological rationality: how we are able to achieve intelligence in the world by using simple heuristics matched to the environments we face, exploiting the structures inherent in our physical, biological, social, and cultural surroundings.

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About the Author

Peter M. Todd
Professor Cognitive Science, Informatics, and Psychology at Indiana University

Gerd Gigerenzer
Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication date
2012
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0195315448
ISBN 13 
9780195315448
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
608
Rating
  • 3.73 out of 5 stars
    11 ratings by Goodreads