Artificial Intelligence?

As I was thinking about the list of problem solving tips presented last week in “Problem Solving III (10 Habits of Mind for Investor),” it began to sound very much like how an intelligent child interacts with the world, at least until he or she learns about doubt and fear. In fact it sounded somewhat like some of the definitions of intelligence I discovered while writing a research paper on Artificial Intelligence. I present one of those lists from my paper for your consideration. I think it can describe the actions of a toddler exploring a back yard or a 60 year old man tottering about the stock markets.

The best short list describing attributes that indicate intelligence that I found in my readings comes from Godel Escher Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter.

1) To respond to situations very flexibly;

2) To take advantage of fortuitous circumstances;

3) To make sense out of ambiguous or contradictory messages;

4) To recognize the relative importance of different elements of a situations;

5) To find similarities between situations despite differences which may separate them;

6) To draw distinctions between situations despite similarities which may link them;

7) To synthesize new concepts by taking old concepts and putting them together in new ways;

8) To come up with ideas which are novel;