Dr. Lester M. Sdorow, author of Psychology, answers questions
about thinking and language. 1. How does someone become
an expert problem solver?The ability to solve problems depends on knowledge, practice, and
thinking ability. Thus, to become an expert in any field you must build up
a fund of information, practice diligently, and apply your thinking
ability to it appropriately. For example, championship chess players have
studied numerous games played by experts, have played thousands of games
themselves, and have the ability to think several moves ahead while
they're playing. 2. Will computers someday surpass human beings in
thinking ability? Computer programs have already been developed that "think"
faster and more accurately than human beings. In fact, in 1996 Gary
Kasparov became the first world chess champion to lose to a computer--a
computer that had been specifically programmed to "think" more
like a human being than like a computer. It remains to be seen whether
computer programs will ever demonstrate the creativity that characterizes
much of human thinking. 3. Now that we know animals can learn sign language,
what other mental qualities make human beings intellectually superior? Though there is some evidence that apes can learn to use language, human
beings exhibit more generativity in the use of language. While an ape
might use sign language to ask for a drink, only human beings can produce
works like those of Shakespeare. Another advantage of human intellectual
ability is its greater flexibility--human beings can adapt to a far
broader range of environments than can animals. Moreover, human beings can
use their intellect to solve a greater variety of problems. |