Re: The intelligent agent philosophy of thinking

On 26 Jan 2006 21:18:45 -0800, hbe123@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>I've made use of object-oriented programming in my coding life. But
>this post isn't about that. Instead: recently I've begun to wonder if
>thinking in object-oriented metaphors is negatively impacting
>scientific explanations.
>
>Specifically, my physics professor has been explaining Newton's laws by
>saying things like: "the ball thinks: 'no one is pushing on me,
>therefore...'"
>
>No, the ball doesn't think.

It's called "anthropomorphism", and it's a cardinal sin in the hard
sciences.

J.

>
>The ball is not an independent agent.
>
>But in writing it out in object-oriented pseudocode, it might appear
>that way:
>
>class Ball
>if
> I'm at rest
>then
> I stay at rest
>
>if
> I'm pushed
>then
> I move with a velocity equalling the push...
>
>In code, it's understandable.But I have a problem when a physics
>professor uses the metaphor. Because in this physical world, the ball
>is /not/ an intelligent agent, the ball has
>no self-interest; the ball is merely following physical rules set forth
>by the Universe.
>
>Perhaps not surprisingly, my physics professor has a coding background,
>demonstrated
>inadvertently the first day of class when one of his blackboard
>examples included the comment notation //, and someone asked why that
>notation wasn't in the book, and
>you could tell which students had prior coding experience by those of
>us who laughed at the question, not trying to be mean, but it was kind
>of funny.
>
>I think my professor's background negatively influences his word
>choices: for instance
>saying "the ball thinks..." as opposed to "The physical forces in the
>universe act on the
>ball such that...". Like I said before, the ball doesn't think!

.

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