Inventive Minds: Marvin Minsky on Education

by Marvin Minsky, Cynthia Solomon (Editor), Xiao Xiao (Editor)

Six essays by artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky on how education can foster inventiveness, paired with commentary by Minsky's former colleagues and students.

Marvin Minsky was a pioneering researcher in artificial intelligence whose work led to both theoretical and practical advances. His work was motivated not only by technological advancement but also by the desire to understand the workings of our own minds. Minsky's insights about the mind provide fresh perspectives on education and how children learn. This book collects for the first time six essays by Minsky on children, learning, and the potential of computers in school to enrich children's development. In these essays Minsky discusses the shortcomings of conventional education (particularly in mathematics) and considers alternative approaches; reflects on the role of mentors; describes higher-level strategies for thinking across domains; and suggests projects for children to pursue. Each essay is paired with commentary by one of Minsky's former colleagues or students, which identifies Minsky's key ideas and connects his writings to current research. Minsky once observed that in traditional teaching, "instead of promoting inventiveness, we focus on preventing mistakes." These essays offer Minsky's unique insights into how education can foster inventiveness.

Commentary by Hal Abelson, Walter Bender, Alan Kay, Margaret Minsky, Brian Silverman, Gary Stager, Mike Travers, Patrick Henry Winston

Genres: Education, Psychology, Essays

232 pages, Hardcover

Published April 23, 2019

About the author

Marvin Lee Minsky (born August 9, 1927) was an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy. Marvin Lee Minsky was born in New York City to an eye surgeon and a Jewish activist, where he attended The Fieldston School and the Bronx High School of Science. He later attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1945. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Harvard (1950) and a PhD in mathematics from Princeton (1954). He has been on the MIT faculty since 1958. In 1959 he and John McCarthy founded what is now known as the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He is currently the Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and Professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

Reviews

[Billy Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's contagious seeing Minsky think and write about topics in education with such optimism.

His six essays cover topics ranging from learning by doing, to building mental models and cognitive maps, to school structure. But one of the clear themes present throughout this collection is his joy in empowering people - especially children - to learn and build their own models of the world, thinking, and thinking about thinking.

[Manzur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small and enjoyable read from Marvin Minsky. It's a collection of essays written for OLPC project. There are parts related computer-aided education and parts challenging existing education system. Book contains interesting ideas on how to improve existing education. I am not sure how well those will work in practice, however I have noticed after myself nodding and virtually shaking hands of the author.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m still thinking about Minsky’s idea of the potential creativity that exists in an endless stock of Tinker-toys and what that means in the English classroom.

Each essay has given me something important to consider about my teaching and my own continuing education.

[Mehmet Yildiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating from all aspects.

[Kason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book! Mavin Minsky's opinion in education is inspirational.