Herbert Simon
Herbert Simon is an American economist and political scientist who is known for his contributions to modern business economics and administrative research. He received many awards for his work in cognitive psychology and computer science. The thread of continuity through all of his work was his interest in human decision-making and problem-solving processes and the implications of these processes for social institutions. He made extensive use of the computer as a tool for both simulating human thinking and augmenting it with artificial intelligence. Dr. Simon was widely considered to be a founder of the field of artificial intelligence.
Herbert Simon Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Professor and Artificial Intelligence Expert
Academic History
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PhD in Political Science
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Bachelor of Arts
AWARDS
National Academy of Sciences 1967
American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award 1969
Alan M. Turing Award 1975
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1978
Academy of Management Scholarly Contributions Award 1983
National Medal of Science 1986
John von Neumann Theory Prize 1988
International Federation of Operational Research Societies' Operations Research Hall of Fame 2004
Herbert Simon and his theories on economic decision-making challenged classical economic thinking, including the ideas of rational behavior and the economic man. Rather than subscribing to the idea that economic behavior was rational and based upon all available information to secure the best possible outcome ("optimizing"), Simon believed decision-making was about "satisficing." His term was a combination of the words "satisfy" and "suffice."
He is widely associated with the theory of bounded rationality, which states that individuals do not make perfectly rational decisions because of the difficulty in obtaining and processing all the information needed to do so.