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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!hplabs!hao!bill
From: bill@hao.UUCP (Bill Roberts)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: An idea...
Message-ID: <2008@hao.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 15-Mar-86 10:25:10 EST
Article-I.D.: hao.2008
Posted: Sat Mar 15 10:25:10 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Mar-86 08:42:04 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: High Altitude Obs./NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 32

I am not a cognitive scientist.  My background is physics and astrophysics.  I 
am currently studying comuter science with the intention of doing research in 
cognitive science some day.  Anyway, I've been thinking of ways to model human
behavior in machines.  The idea is this:

	Suppose you have a function defined as follows:
	   f:MS * context ------> Behavior

	where 
	 *  ::= a projection operation that takes a subset of MS and 
		"projects" this subset onto the space defined by context.

	 MS ::= a compostion of abstract data types,

         context ::= an enviroment in which the ADTs are "applied",

	 Behavior::= a class of "observable responses".

Clearly this idea is simplistic and perhaps has been proposed elsewhere.
My reason for posting it is to get some response from the professional 
(and unprofessional) cog-sci community.  

Terms like "projects", "applied" and "observable responses" are
open for definition.  Constructive responses would be appreciated as well as,
some pointers into any literature that deals with notions such as the above.
Again, I am not a cognitive scientist and would hope this idea is taken in that
context. 

							-Bill Roberts
							 NCAR/HAO
							 Boulder, CO
							 !hao!bill