From Bricks to Brains
From Bricks to Brains
The Embodied Cognitive Science of LEGO Robots
From Bricks to Brains introduces embodied cognitive scienceand illustrates its foundational ideas through the construction andobservation of LEGO Mindstorms robots.
Discussing the characteristics that distinguish embodied cognitivescience from classical cognitive science, From Bricks toBrains places a renewed emphasis on sensing and acting, theimportance of embodiment, the exploration of distributed notions ofcontrol, and the development of theories by synthesizing simple systemsand exploring their behaviour. Numerous examples are used to illustratea key theme: the importance of an agent’s environment. Evensimple agents, such as LEGO robots, are capable of exhibiting complexbehaviour when they can sense and affect the world around them.
Front Matter; Table of Contents; Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Mind Control—Internal or External?
Chapter 2. Classical Music and the Classical Mind
Chapter 3. Situated Cognition and Bricolage
Chapter 4. Braitenberg’s Vehicle 2
Chapter 5. Thoughtless Walkers
Chapter 6. Machina Speculatrix
Chapter 7. The Subsumption Architecture
Chapter 8. Embodiment, Stigmergy, and Swarm Intelligence
Chapter 9. Totems, Toys—Or Tools?
References; Index
