1975 · Artificial intelligence

Searching for a way to solve a problem

Symbolic systems connected computer programs with theories of human problem solving.

Allen Newell · Herbert Simon

1975Turing Award

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The prize, pictured

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Searching for a way to solve a problem: Symbolic systems connected computer programs with theories of human problem solving. — Original AI-generated infographic by Curionode. Read the text version below for the full explanation.

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Represent
Describe the current situation.
Search
Explore promising alternatives.
Reach
Test a candidate against the goal.

Heuristic search made some large problem spaces tractable and gave cognitive theories a form that could be tested.

A heuristic can guide a search well without guaranteeing the shortest route or a faithful account of human thinking.

01 · The idea

In everyday language

Allen Newell and Herbert Simon, working with J. C. Shaw and others, built programs that represented problems symbolically and searched through possible solutions. Their research connected artificial intelligence with cognitive psychology and helped develop list processing. A computer program could serve both as a problem solver and as an explicit hypothesis about a process of thought.

Why it matters

Heuristic search made some large problem spaces tractable and gave cognitive theories a form that could be tested.

02 · The people

Who brought the idea to life?

Allen Newell

Allen Newell studied intelligence by constructing computer programs that model problem solving. With Herbert Simon and other collaborators, he developed systems including the Logic Theorist and General Problem Solver. His research emphasized information processing as a common framework for understanding human cognition and machine reasoning. At Carnegie Mellon he helped establish computer science and cognitive science, later pursuing integrated cognitive architectures such as Soar.

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Herbert Simon

Herbert Simon brought the study of human decision-making into early artificial intelligence. With Allen Newell and collaborators, he used programs such as the Logic Theorist to investigate how people solve problems through symbolic search. His broader research examined organizations and bounded rationality: decisions made with limited information and resources. At Carnegie Mellon, his work connected computer science with psychology, economics, and management.

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03 · Read further