A Wave Created by the Convergence of Research in Various Fields / [Book Review] 'Wild Intelligence'

"Beyond the Brain." This phrase, which serves as the title of the original book, is also a slogan for a newly emerging position in cognitive science. According to this position, when studying human or animal cognition, focusing solely on the brain is misguided. Rather, it argues that cognition must be considered as something extended beyond the brain to the body and the environment. This book is a research volume that provides an overview of this trend in cognitive science.

What is most exciting about the above position is that knowledge from various fields is converging to create a single wave. For example, Brooks' research on autonomous agents (robotics) and Thelen and Smith's research on infant walking (developmental psychology) are cases in point. The appeal of this book lies in its comprehensive introduction of such diverse findings. Personally, I was particularly impressed by the story of the tidying-up robot, "Swiss-kun." In fact, that robot has only one type of sensor and only one very simple rule for behavior. Nevertheless, when placed in an environment where cubes are scattered, the robot successfully tidies them up. I want you to read the book to find out how that is possible, but the point lies in Swiss-kun's physical structure and its interaction with the environment. In other words, while its internal structure is extremely simple, it offloads cognitive burdens onto the body and the external environment. This example will brilliantly overturn our assumption that "complex behavior cannot be achieved without a complex brain."

The book is packed with many other important topics, such as von Uexküll's "Umwelt" and Gibson's ecological psychology. Additionally, two chapters are devoted to explaining "dynamical systems theory," which is at the center of this new wave. I hope you will enjoy reading this book to see how a new wave is being formed while absorbing traditional knowledge.

Finally, I have one request regarding this Japanese translation. Frankly speaking, the interest of this book does not lie in the author's original research. Rather, as I mentioned, its appeal lies in the fact that it introduces interesting research across many fields without omission. However, if that is the case, I wish the list of references had been included in the book itself. While the method of "references are on the web" is not impossible, I feel it was not appropriate, especially for this book.

That said, it is a fun book to read. I hope many people will feel the excitement of this new research.

[Related Books]

Andy Clark's books are also helpful for the idea of the "interaction between brain, body, and environment."

The fact that this book by Thelen and Smith was published in Japanese in 2018 feels like an event in itself.