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normal thought process

  • 1 normal thought process

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > normal thought process

  • 2 normal thought process

    Англо-русский словарь по психоаналитике > normal thought process

  • 3 Creativity

       Put in this bald way, these aims sound utopian. How utopian they areor rather, how imminent their realization-depends on how broadly or narrowly we interpret the term "creative." If we are willing to regard all human complex problem solving as creative, then-as we will point out-successful programs for problem solving mechanisms that simulate human problem solvers already exist, and a number of their general characteristics are known. If we reserve the term "creative" for activities like discovery of the special theory of relativity or the composition of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, then no example of a creative mechanism exists at the present time. (Simon, 1979, pp. 144-145)
       Among the questions that can now be given preliminary answers in computational terms are the following: how can ideas from very different sources be spontaneously thought of together? how can two ideas be merged to produce a new structure, which shows the influence of both ancestor ideas without being a mere "cut-and-paste" combination? how can the mind be "primed," so that one will more easily notice serendipitous ideas? why may someone notice-and remember-something fairly uninteresting, if it occurs in an interesting context? how can a brief phrase conjure up an entire melody from memory? and how can we accept two ideas as similar ("love" and "prove" as rhyming, for instance) in respect of a feature not identical in both? The features of connectionist AI models that suggest answers to these questions are their powers of pattern completion, graceful degradation, sensitization, multiple constraint satisfaction, and "best-fit" equilibration.... Here, the important point is that the unconscious, "insightful," associative aspects of creativity can be explained-in outline, at least-by AI methods. (Boden, 1996, p. 273)
       There thus appears to be an underlying similarity in the process involved in creative innovation and social independence, with common traits and postures required for expression of both behaviors. The difference is one of product-literary, musical, artistic, theoretical products on the one hand, opinions on the other-rather than one of process. In both instances the individual must believe that his perceptions are meaningful and valid and be willing to rely upon his own interpretations. He must trust himself sufficiently that even when persons express opinions counter to his own he can proceed on the basis of his own perceptions and convictions. (Coopersmith, 1967, p. 58)
       he average level of ego strength and emotional stability is noticeably higher among creative geniuses than among the general population, though it is possibly lower than among men of comparable intelligence and education who go into administrative and similar positions. High anxiety and excitability appear common (e.g. Priestley, Darwin, Kepler) but full-blown neurosis is quite rare. (Cattell & Butcher, 1970, p. 315)
       he insight that is supposed to be required for such work as discovery turns out to be synonymous with the familiar process of recognition; and other terms commonly used in the discussion of creative work-such terms as "judgment," "creativity," or even "genius"-appear to be wholly dispensable or to be definable, as insight is, in terms of mundane and well-understood concepts. (Simon, 1989, p. 376)
       From the sketch material still in existence, from the condition of the fragments, and from the autographs themselves we can draw definite conclusions about Mozart's creative process. To invent musical ideas he did not need any stimulation; they came to his mind "ready-made" and in polished form. In contrast to Beethoven, who made numerous attempts at shaping his musical ideas until he found the definitive formulation of a theme, Mozart's first inspiration has the stamp of finality. Any Mozart theme has completeness and unity; as a phenomenon it is a Gestalt. (Herzmann, 1964, p. 28)
       Great artists enlarge the limits of one's perception. Looking at the world through the eyes of Rembrandt or Tolstoy makes one able to perceive aspects of truth about the world which one could not have achieved without their aid. Freud believed that science was adaptive because it facilitated mastery of the external world; but was it not the case that many scientific theories, like works of art, also originated in phantasy? Certainly, reading accounts of scientific discovery by men of the calibre of Einstein compelled me to conclude that phantasy was not merely escapist, but a way of reaching new insights concerning the nature of reality. Scientific hypotheses require proof; works of art do not. Both are concerned with creating order, with making sense out of the world and our experience of it. (Storr, 1993, p. xii)
       The importance of self-esteem for creative expression appears to be almost beyond disproof. Without a high regard for himself the individual who is working in the frontiers of his field cannot trust himself to discriminate between the trivial and the significant. Without trust in his own powers the person seeking improved solutions or alternative theories has no basis for distinguishing the significant and profound innovation from the one that is merely different.... An essential component of the creative process, whether it be analysis, synthesis, or the development of a new perspective or more comprehensive theory, is the conviction that one's judgment in interpreting the events is to be trusted. (Coopersmith, 1967, p. 59)
       In the daily stream of thought these four different stages [preparation; incubation; illumination or inspiration; and verification] constantly overlap each other as we explore different problems. An economist reading a Blue Book, a physiologist watching an experiment, or a business man going through his morning's letters, may at the same time be "incubating" on a problem which he proposed to himself a few days ago, be accumulating knowledge in "preparation" for a second problem, and be "verifying" his conclusions to a third problem. Even in exploring the same problem, the mind may be unconsciously incubating on one aspect of it, while it is consciously employed in preparing for or verifying another aspect. (Wallas, 1926, p. 81)
       he basic, bisociative pattern of the creative synthesis [is] the sudden interlocking of two previously unrelated skills, or matrices of thought. (Koestler, 1964, p. 121)
        11) The Earliest Stages in the Creative Process Involve a Commerce with Disorder
       Even to the creator himself, the earliest effort may seem to involve a commerce with disorder. For the creative order, which is an extension of life, is not an elaboration of the established, but a movement beyond the established, or at least a reorganization of it and often of elements not included in it. The first need is therefore to transcend the old order. Before any new order can be defined, the absolute power of the established, the hold upon us of what we know and are, must be broken. New life comes always from outside our world, as we commonly conceive that world. This is the reason why, in order to invent, one must yield to the indeterminate within him, or, more precisely, to certain illdefined impulses which seem to be of the very texture of the ungoverned fullness which John Livingston Lowes calls "the surging chaos of the unexpressed." (Ghiselin, 1985, p. 4)
       New life comes always from outside our world, as we commonly conceive our world. This is the reason why, in order to invent, one must yield to the indeterminate within him, or, more precisely, to certain illdefined impulses which seem to be of the very texture of the ungoverned fullness which John Livingston Lowes calls "the surging chaos of the unexpressed." Chaos and disorder are perhaps the wrong terms for that indeterminate fullness and activity of the inner life. For it is organic, dynamic, full of tension and tendency. What is absent from it, except in the decisive act of creation, is determination, fixity, and commitment to one resolution or another of the whole complex of its tensions. (Ghiselin, 1952, p. 13)
       [P]sychoanalysts have principally been concerned with the content of creative products, and with explaining content in terms of the artist's infantile past. They have paid less attention to examining why the artist chooses his particular activity to express, abreact or sublimate his emotions. In short, they have not made much distinction between art and neurosis; and, since the former is one of the blessings of mankind, whereas the latter is one of the curses, it seems a pity that they should not be better differentiated....
       Psychoanalysis, being fundamentally concerned with drive and motive, might have been expected to throw more light upon what impels the creative person that in fact it has. (Storr, 1993, pp. xvii, 3)
       A number of theoretical approaches were considered. Associative theory, as developed by Mednick (1962), gained some empirical support from the apparent validity of the Remote Associates Test, which was constructed on the basis of the theory.... Koestler's (1964) bisociative theory allows more complexity to mental organization than Mednick's associative theory, and postulates "associative contexts" or "frames of reference." He proposed that normal, non-creative, thought proceeds within particular contexts or frames and that the creative act involves linking together previously unconnected frames.... Simonton (1988) has developed associative notions further and explored the mathematical consequences of chance permutation of ideas....
       Like Koestler, Gruber (1980; Gruber and Davis, 1988) has based his analysis on case studies. He has focused especially on Darwin's development of the theory of evolution. Using piagetian notions, such as assimilation and accommodation, Gruber shows how Darwin's system of ideas changed very slowly over a period of many years. "Moments of insight," in Gruber's analysis, were the culminations of slow long-term processes.... Finally, the information-processing approach, as represented by Simon (1966) and Langley et al. (1987), was considered.... [Simon] points out the importance of good problem representations, both to ensure search is in an appropriate problem space and to aid in developing heuristic evaluations of possible research directions.... The work of Langley et al. (1987) demonstrates how such search processes, realized in computer programs, can indeed discover many basic laws of science from tables of raw data.... Boden (1990a, 1994) has stressed the importance of restructuring the problem space in creative work to develop new genres and paradigms in the arts and sciences. (Gilhooly, 1996, pp. 243-244; emphasis in original)

    Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Creativity

  • 4 Artificial Intelligence

       In my opinion, none of [these programs] does even remote justice to the complexity of human mental processes. Unlike men, "artificially intelligent" programs tend to be single minded, undistractable, and unemotional. (Neisser, 1967, p. 9)
       Future progress in [artificial intelligence] will depend on the development of both practical and theoretical knowledge.... As regards theoretical knowledge, some have sought a unified theory of artificial intelligence. My view is that artificial intelligence is (or soon will be) an engineering discipline since its primary goal is to build things. (Nilsson, 1971, pp. vii-viii)
       Most workers in AI [artificial intelligence] research and in related fields confess to a pronounced feeling of disappointment in what has been achieved in the last 25 years. Workers entered the field around 1950, and even around 1960, with high hopes that are very far from being realized in 1972. In no part of the field have the discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised.... In the meantime, claims and predictions regarding the potential results of AI research had been publicized which went even farther than the expectations of the majority of workers in the field, whose embarrassments have been added to by the lamentable failure of such inflated predictions....
       When able and respected scientists write in letters to the present author that AI, the major goal of computing science, represents "another step in the general process of evolution"; that possibilities in the 1980s include an all-purpose intelligence on a human-scale knowledge base; that awe-inspiring possibilities suggest themselves based on machine intelligence exceeding human intelligence by the year 2000 [one has the right to be skeptical]. (Lighthill, 1972, p. 17)
       4) Just as Astronomy Succeeded Astrology, the Discovery of Intellectual Processes in Machines Should Lead to a Science, Eventually
       Just as astronomy succeeded astrology, following Kepler's discovery of planetary regularities, the discoveries of these many principles in empirical explorations on intellectual processes in machines should lead to a science, eventually. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)
       Many problems arise in experiments on machine intelligence because things obvious to any person are not represented in any program. One can pull with a string, but one cannot push with one.... Simple facts like these caused serious problems when Charniak attempted to extend Bobrow's "Student" program to more realistic applications, and they have not been faced up to until now. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 77)
       What do we mean by [a symbolic] "description"? We do not mean to suggest that our descriptions must be made of strings of ordinary language words (although they might be). The simplest kind of description is a structure in which some features of a situation are represented by single ("primitive") symbols, and relations between those features are represented by other symbols-or by other features of the way the description is put together. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)
       [AI is] the use of computer programs and programming techniques to cast light on the principles of intelligence in general and human thought in particular. (Boden, 1977, p. 5)
       The word you look for and hardly ever see in the early AI literature is the word knowledge. They didn't believe you have to know anything, you could always rework it all.... In fact 1967 is the turning point in my mind when there was enough feeling that the old ideas of general principles had to go.... I came up with an argument for what I called the primacy of expertise, and at the time I called the other guys the generalists. (Moses, quoted in McCorduck, 1979, pp. 228-229)
       9) Artificial Intelligence Is Psychology in a Particularly Pure and Abstract Form
       The basic idea of cognitive science is that intelligent beings are semantic engines-in other words, automatic formal systems with interpretations under which they consistently make sense. We can now see why this includes psychology and artificial intelligence on a more or less equal footing: people and intelligent computers (if and when there are any) turn out to be merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. Moreover, with universal hardware, any semantic engine can in principle be formally imitated by a computer if only the right program can be found. And that will guarantee semantic imitation as well, since (given the appropriate formal behavior) the semantics is "taking care of itself" anyway. Thus we also see why, from this perspective, artificial intelligence can be regarded as psychology in a particularly pure and abstract form. The same fundamental structures are under investigation, but in AI, all the relevant parameters are under direct experimental control (in the programming), without any messy physiology or ethics to get in the way. (Haugeland, 1981b, p. 31)
       There are many different kinds of reasoning one might imagine:
        Formal reasoning involves the syntactic manipulation of data structures to deduce new ones following prespecified rules of inference. Mathematical logic is the archetypical formal representation. Procedural reasoning uses simulation to answer questions and solve problems. When we use a program to answer What is the sum of 3 and 4? it uses, or "runs," a procedural model of arithmetic. Reasoning by analogy seems to be a very natural mode of thought for humans but, so far, difficult to accomplish in AI programs. The idea is that when you ask the question Can robins fly? the system might reason that "robins are like sparrows, and I know that sparrows can fly, so robins probably can fly."
        Generalization and abstraction are also natural reasoning process for humans that are difficult to pin down well enough to implement in a program. If one knows that Robins have wings, that Sparrows have wings, and that Blue jays have wings, eventually one will believe that All birds have wings. This capability may be at the core of most human learning, but it has not yet become a useful technique in AI.... Meta- level reasoning is demonstrated by the way one answers the question What is Paul Newman's telephone number? You might reason that "if I knew Paul Newman's number, I would know that I knew it, because it is a notable fact." This involves using "knowledge about what you know," in particular, about the extent of your knowledge and about the importance of certain facts. Recent research in psychology and AI indicates that meta-level reasoning may play a central role in human cognitive processing. (Barr & Feigenbaum, 1981, pp. 146-147)
       Suffice it to say that programs already exist that can do things-or, at the very least, appear to be beginning to do things-which ill-informed critics have asserted a priori to be impossible. Examples include: perceiving in a holistic as opposed to an atomistic way; using language creatively; translating sensibly from one language to another by way of a language-neutral semantic representation; planning acts in a broad and sketchy fashion, the details being decided only in execution; distinguishing between different species of emotional reaction according to the psychological context of the subject. (Boden, 1981, p. 33)
       Can the synthesis of Man and Machine ever be stable, or will the purely organic component become such a hindrance that it has to be discarded? If this eventually happens-and I have... good reasons for thinking that it must-we have nothing to regret and certainly nothing to fear. (Clarke, 1984, p. 243)
       The thesis of GOFAI... is not that the processes underlying intelligence can be described symbolically... but that they are symbolic. (Haugeland, 1985, p. 113)
        14) Artificial Intelligence Provides a Useful Approach to Psychological and Psychiatric Theory Formation
       It is all very well formulating psychological and psychiatric theories verbally but, when using natural language (even technical jargon), it is difficult to recognise when a theory is complete; oversights are all too easily made, gaps too readily left. This is a point which is generally recognised to be true and it is for precisely this reason that the behavioural sciences attempt to follow the natural sciences in using "classical" mathematics as a more rigorous descriptive language. However, it is an unfortunate fact that, with a few notable exceptions, there has been a marked lack of success in this application. It is my belief that a different approach-a different mathematics-is needed, and that AI provides just this approach. (Hand, quoted in Hand, 1985, pp. 6-7)
       We might distinguish among four kinds of AI.
       Research of this kind involves building and programming computers to perform tasks which, to paraphrase Marvin Minsky, would require intelligence if they were done by us. Researchers in nonpsychological AI make no claims whatsoever about the psychological realism of their programs or the devices they build, that is, about whether or not computers perform tasks as humans do.
       Research here is guided by the view that the computer is a useful tool in the study of mind. In particular, we can write computer programs or build devices that simulate alleged psychological processes in humans and then test our predictions about how the alleged processes work. We can weave these programs and devices together with other programs and devices that simulate different alleged mental processes and thereby test the degree to which the AI system as a whole simulates human mentality. According to weak psychological AI, working with computer models is a way of refining and testing hypotheses about processes that are allegedly realized in human minds.
    ... According to this view, our minds are computers and therefore can be duplicated by other computers. Sherry Turkle writes that the "real ambition is of mythic proportions, making a general purpose intelligence, a mind." (Turkle, 1984, p. 240) The authors of a major text announce that "the ultimate goal of AI research is to build a person or, more humbly, an animal." (Charniak & McDermott, 1985, p. 7)
       Research in this field, like strong psychological AI, takes seriously the functionalist view that mentality can be realized in many different types of physical devices. Suprapsychological AI, however, accuses strong psychological AI of being chauvinisticof being only interested in human intelligence! Suprapsychological AI claims to be interested in all the conceivable ways intelligence can be realized. (Flanagan, 1991, pp. 241-242)
        16) Determination of Relevance of Rules in Particular Contexts
       Even if the [rules] were stored in a context-free form the computer still couldn't use them. To do that the computer requires rules enabling it to draw on just those [ rules] which are relevant in each particular context. Determination of relevance will have to be based on further facts and rules, but the question will again arise as to which facts and rules are relevant for making each particular determination. One could always invoke further facts and rules to answer this question, but of course these must be only the relevant ones. And so it goes. It seems that AI workers will never be able to get started here unless they can settle the problem of relevance beforehand by cataloguing types of context and listing just those facts which are relevant in each. (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986, p. 80)
       Perhaps the single most important idea to artificial intelligence is that there is no fundamental difference between form and content, that meaning can be captured in a set of symbols such as a semantic net. (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)
        18) The Assumption That the Mind Is a Formal System
       Artificial intelligence is based on the assumption that the mind can be described as some kind of formal system manipulating symbols that stand for things in the world. Thus it doesn't matter what the brain is made of, or what it uses for tokens in the great game of thinking. Using an equivalent set of tokens and rules, we can do thinking with a digital computer, just as we can play chess using cups, salt and pepper shakers, knives, forks, and spoons. Using the right software, one system (the mind) can be mapped into the other (the computer). (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)
        19) A Statement of the Primary and Secondary Purposes of Artificial Intelligence
       The primary goal of Artificial Intelligence is to make machines smarter.
       The secondary goals of Artificial Intelligence are to understand what intelligence is (the Nobel laureate purpose) and to make machines more useful (the entrepreneurial purpose). (Winston, 1987, p. 1)
       The theoretical ideas of older branches of engineering are captured in the language of mathematics. We contend that mathematical logic provides the basis for theory in AI. Although many computer scientists already count logic as fundamental to computer science in general, we put forward an even stronger form of the logic-is-important argument....
       AI deals mainly with the problem of representing and using declarative (as opposed to procedural) knowledge. Declarative knowledge is the kind that is expressed as sentences, and AI needs a language in which to state these sentences. Because the languages in which this knowledge usually is originally captured (natural languages such as English) are not suitable for computer representations, some other language with the appropriate properties must be used. It turns out, we think, that the appropriate properties include at least those that have been uppermost in the minds of logicians in their development of logical languages such as the predicate calculus. Thus, we think that any language for expressing knowledge in AI systems must be at least as expressive as the first-order predicate calculus. (Genesereth & Nilsson, 1987, p. viii)
        21) Perceptual Structures Can Be Represented as Lists of Elementary Propositions
       In artificial intelligence studies, perceptual structures are represented as assemblages of description lists, the elementary components of which are propositions asserting that certain relations hold among elements. (Chase & Simon, 1988, p. 490)
       Artificial intelligence (AI) is sometimes defined as the study of how to build and/or program computers to enable them to do the sorts of things that minds can do. Some of these things are commonly regarded as requiring intelligence: offering a medical diagnosis and/or prescription, giving legal or scientific advice, proving theorems in logic or mathematics. Others are not, because they can be done by all normal adults irrespective of educational background (and sometimes by non-human animals too), and typically involve no conscious control: seeing things in sunlight and shadows, finding a path through cluttered terrain, fitting pegs into holes, speaking one's own native tongue, and using one's common sense. Because it covers AI research dealing with both these classes of mental capacity, this definition is preferable to one describing AI as making computers do "things that would require intelligence if done by people." However, it presupposes that computers could do what minds can do, that they might really diagnose, advise, infer, and understand. One could avoid this problematic assumption (and also side-step questions about whether computers do things in the same way as we do) by defining AI instead as "the development of computers whose observable performance has features which in humans we would attribute to mental processes." This bland characterization would be acceptable to some AI workers, especially amongst those focusing on the production of technological tools for commercial purposes. But many others would favour a more controversial definition, seeing AI as the science of intelligence in general-or, more accurately, as the intellectual core of cognitive science. As such, its goal is to provide a systematic theory that can explain (and perhaps enable us to replicate) both the general categories of intentionality and the diverse psychological capacities grounded in them. (Boden, 1990b, pp. 1-2)
       Because the ability to store data somewhat corresponds to what we call memory in human beings, and because the ability to follow logical procedures somewhat corresponds to what we call reasoning in human beings, many members of the cult have concluded that what computers do somewhat corresponds to what we call thinking. It is no great difficulty to persuade the general public of that conclusion since computers process data very fast in small spaces well below the level of visibility; they do not look like other machines when they are at work. They seem to be running along as smoothly and silently as the brain does when it remembers and reasons and thinks. On the other hand, those who design and build computers know exactly how the machines are working down in the hidden depths of their semiconductors. Computers can be taken apart, scrutinized, and put back together. Their activities can be tracked, analyzed, measured, and thus clearly understood-which is far from possible with the brain. This gives rise to the tempting assumption on the part of the builders and designers that computers can tell us something about brains, indeed, that the computer can serve as a model of the mind, which then comes to be seen as some manner of information processing machine, and possibly not as good at the job as the machine. (Roszak, 1994, pp. xiv-xv)
       The inner workings of the human mind are far more intricate than the most complicated systems of modern technology. Researchers in the field of artificial intelligence have been attempting to develop programs that will enable computers to display intelligent behavior. Although this field has been an active one for more than thirty-five years and has had many notable successes, AI researchers still do not know how to create a program that matches human intelligence. No existing program can recall facts, solve problems, reason, learn, and process language with human facility. This lack of success has occurred not because computers are inferior to human brains but rather because we do not yet know in sufficient detail how intelligence is organized in the brain. (Anderson, 1995, p. 2)

    Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Artificial Intelligence

  • 5 Mind

       It becomes, therefore, no inconsiderable part of science... to know the different operations of the mind, to separate them from each other, to class them under their proper heads, and to correct all that seeming disorder in which they lie involved when made the object of reflection and inquiry.... It cannot be doubted that the mind is endowed with several powers and faculties, that these powers are distinct from one another, and that what is really distinct to the immediate perception may be distinguished by reflection and, consequently, that there is a truth and falsehood which lie not beyond the compass of human understanding. (Hume, 1955, p. 22)
       Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white Paper, void of all Characters, without any Ideas: How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store, which the busy and boundless Fancy of Man has painted on it, with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of Reason and Knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from Experience. (Locke, quoted in Herrnstein & Boring, 1965, p. 584)
       The kind of logic in mythical thought is as rigorous as that of modern science, and... the difference lies, not in the quality of the intellectual process, but in the nature of things to which it is applied.... Man has always been thinking equally well; the improvement lies, not in an alleged progress of man's mind, but in the discovery of new areas to which it may apply its unchanged and unchanging powers. (Leґvi-Strauss, 1963, p. 230)
       MIND. A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with. (Bierce, quoted in Minsky, 1986, p. 55)
       [Philosophy] understands the foundations of knowledge and it finds these foundations in a study of man-as-knower, of the "mental processes" or the "activity of representation" which make knowledge possible. To know is to represent accurately what is outside the mind, so to understand the possibility and nature of knowledge is to understand the way in which the mind is able to construct such representation.... We owe the notion of a "theory of knowledge" based on an understanding of "mental processes" to the seventeenth century, and especially to Locke. We owe the notion of "the mind" as a separate entity in which "processes" occur to the same period, and especially to Descartes. We owe the notion of philosophy as a tribunal of pure reason, upholding or denying the claims of the rest of culture, to the eighteenth century and especially to Kant, but this Kantian notion presupposed general assent to Lockean notions of mental processes and Cartesian notions of mental substance. (Rorty, 1979, pp. 3-4)
       Under pressure from the computer, the question of mind in relation to machine is becoming a central cultural preoccupation. It is becoming for us what sex was to Victorians-threat, obsession, taboo, and fascination. (Turkle, 1984, p. 313)
       7) Understanding the Mind Remains as Resistant to Neurological as to Cognitive Analyses
       Recent years have been exciting for researchers in the brain and cognitive sciences. Both fields have flourished, each spurred on by methodological and conceptual developments, and although understanding the mechanisms of mind is an objective shared by many workers in these areas, their theories and approaches to the problem are vastly different....
       Early experimental psychologists, such as Wundt and James, were as interested in and knowledgeable about the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system as about the young science of the mind. However, the experimental study of mental processes was short-lived, being eclipsed by the rise of behaviorism early in this century. It was not until the late 1950s that the signs of a new mentalism first appeared in scattered writings of linguists, philosophers, computer enthusiasts, and psychologists.
       In this new incarnation, the science of mind had a specific mission: to challenge and replace behaviorism. In the meantime, brain science had in many ways become allied with a behaviorist approach.... While behaviorism sought to reduce the mind to statements about bodily action, brain science seeks to explain the mind in terms of physiochemical events occurring in the nervous system. These approaches contrast with contemporary cognitive science, which tries to understand the mind as it is, without any reduction, a view sometimes described as functionalism.
       The cognitive revolution is now in place. Cognition is the subject of contemporary psychology. This was achieved with little or no talk of neurons, action potentials, and neurotransmitters. Similarly, neuroscience has risen to an esteemed position among the biological sciences without much talk of cognitive processes. Do the fields need each other?... [Y]es because the problem of understanding the mind, unlike the wouldbe problem solvers, respects no disciplinary boundaries. It remains as resistant to neurological as to cognitive analyses. (LeDoux & Hirst, 1986, pp. 1-2)
       Since the Second World War scientists from different disciplines have turned to the study of the human mind. Computer scientists have tried to emulate its capacity for visual perception. Linguists have struggled with the puzzle of how children acquire language. Ethologists have sought the innate roots of social behaviour. Neurophysiologists have begun to relate the function of nerve cells to complex perceptual and motor processes. Neurologists and neuropsychologists have used the pattern of competence and incompetence of their brain-damaged patients to elucidate the normal workings of the brain. Anthropologists have examined the conceptual structure of cultural practices to advance hypotheses about the basic principles of the mind. These days one meets engineers who work on speech perception, biologists who investigate the mental representation of spatial relations, and physicists who want to understand consciousness. And, of course, psychologists continue to study perception, memory, thought and action.
    ... [W]orkers in many disciplines have converged on a number of central problems and explanatory ideas. They have realized that no single approach is likely to unravel the workings of the mind: it will not give up its secrets to psychology alone; nor is any other isolated discipline-artificial intelligence, linguistics, anthropology, neurophysiology, philosophy-going to have any greater success. (Johnson-Laird, 1988, p. 7)

    Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Mind

  • 6 Memory

       To what extent can we lump together what goes on when you try to recall: (1) your name; (2) how you kick a football; and (3) the present location of your car keys? If we use introspective evidence as a guide, the first seems an immediate automatic response. The second may require constructive internal replay prior to our being able to produce a verbal description. The third... quite likely involves complex operational responses under the control of some general strategy system. Is any unitary search process, with a single set of characteristics and inputoutput relations, likely to cover all these cases? (Reitman, 1970, p. 485)
       [Semantic memory] Is a mental thesaurus, organized knowledge a person possesses about words and other verbal symbols, their meanings and referents, about relations among them, and about rules, formulas, and algorithms for the manipulation of these symbols, concepts, and relations. Semantic memory does not register perceptible properties of inputs, but rather cognitive referents of input signals. (Tulving, 1972, p. 386)
       The mnemonic code, far from being fixed and unchangeable, is structured and restructured along with general development. Such a restructuring of the code takes place in close dependence on the schemes of intelligence. The clearest indication of this is the observation of different types of memory organisation in accordance with the age level of a child so that a longer interval of retention without any new presentation, far from causing a deterioration of memory, may actually improve it. (Piaget & Inhelder, 1973, p. 36)
       4) The Logic of Some Memory Theorization Is of Dubious Worth in the History of Psychology
       If a cue was effective in memory retrieval, then one could infer it was encoded; if a cue was not effective, then it was not encoded. The logic of this theorization is "heads I win, tails you lose" and is of dubious worth in the history of psychology. We might ask how long scientists will puzzle over questions with no answers. (Solso, 1974, p. 28)
       We have iconic, echoic, active, working, acoustic, articulatory, primary, secondary, episodic, semantic, short-term, intermediate-term, and longterm memories, and these memories contain tags, traces, images, attributes, markers, concepts, cognitive maps, natural-language mediators, kernel sentences, relational rules, nodes, associations, propositions, higher-order memory units, and features. (Eysenck, 1977, p. 4)
       The problem with the memory metaphor is that storage and retrieval of traces only deals [ sic] with old, previously articulated information. Memory traces can perhaps provide a basis for dealing with the "sameness" of the present experience with previous experiences, but the memory metaphor has no mechanisms for dealing with novel information. (Bransford, McCarrell, Franks & Nitsch, 1977, p. 434)
       7) The Results of a Hundred Years of the Psychological Study of Memory Are Somewhat Discouraging
       The results of a hundred years of the psychological study of memory are somewhat discouraging. We have established firm empirical generalisations, but most of them are so obvious that every ten-year-old knows them anyway. We have made discoveries, but they are only marginally about memory; in many cases we don't know what to do with them, and wear them out with endless experimental variations. We have an intellectually impressive group of theories, but history offers little confidence that they will provide any meaningful insight into natural behavior. (Neisser, 1978, pp. 12-13)
       A schema, then is a data structure for representing the generic concepts stored in memory. There are schemata representing our knowledge about all concepts; those underlying objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions and sequences of actions. A schema contains, as part of its specification, the network of interrelations that is believed to normally hold among the constituents of the concept in question. A schema theory embodies a prototype theory of meaning. That is, inasmuch as a schema underlying a concept stored in memory corresponds to the mean ing of that concept, meanings are encoded in terms of the typical or normal situations or events that instantiate that concept. (Rumelhart, 1980, p. 34)
       Memory appears to be constrained by a structure, a "syntax," perhaps at quite a low level, but it is free to be variable, deviant, even erratic at a higher level....
       Like the information system of language, memory can be explained in part by the abstract rules which underlie it, but only in part. The rules provide a basic competence, but they do not fully determine performance. (Campbell, 1982, pp. 228, 229)
       When people think about the mind, they often liken it to a physical space, with memories and ideas as objects contained within that space. Thus, we speak of ideas being in the dark corners or dim recesses of our minds, and of holding ideas in mind. Ideas may be in the front or back of our minds, or they may be difficult to grasp. With respect to the processes involved in memory, we talk about storing memories, of searching or looking for lost memories, and sometimes of finding them. An examination of common parlance, therefore, suggests that there is general adherence to what might be called the spatial metaphor. The basic assumptions of this metaphor are that memories are treated as objects stored in specific locations within the mind, and the retrieval process involves a search through the mind in order to find specific memories....
       However, while the spatial metaphor has shown extraordinary longevity, there have been some interesting changes over time in the precise form of analogy used. In particular, technological advances have influenced theoretical conceptualisations.... The original Greek analogies were based on wax tablets and aviaries; these were superseded by analogies involving switchboards, gramophones, tape recorders, libraries, conveyor belts, and underground maps. Most recently, the workings of human memory have been compared to computer functioning... and it has been suggested that the various memory stores found in computers have their counterparts in the human memory system. (Eysenck, 1984, pp. 79-80)
       Primary memory [as proposed by William James] relates to information that remains in consciousness after it has been perceived, and thus forms part of the psychological present, whereas secondary memory contains information about events that have left consciousness, and are therefore part of the psychological past. (Eysenck, 1984, p. 86)
       Once psychologists began to study long-term memory per se, they realized it may be divided into two main categories.... Semantic memories have to do with our general knowledge about the working of the world. We know what cars do, what stoves do, what the laws of gravity are, and so on. Episodic memories are largely events that took place at a time and place in our personal history. Remembering specific events about our own actions, about our family, and about our individual past falls into this category. With amnesia or in aging, what dims... is our personal episodic memories, save for those that are especially dear or painful to us. Our knowledge of how the world works remains pretty much intact. (Gazzaniga, 1988, p. 42)
       The nature of memory... provides a natural starting point for an analysis of thinking. Memory is the repository of many of the beliefs and representations that enter into thinking, and the retrievability of these representations can limit the quality of our thought. (Smith, 1990, p. 1)

    Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Memory

  • 7 get

    get
    ❢ This much-used verb has no multi-purpose equivalent in French and therefore is very often translated by choosing a synonym: to get lunch = to prepare lunch = préparer le déjeuner. get is used in many idiomatic expressions ( to get something off one's chest etc) and translations will be found in the appropriate entry (chest etc). This is also true of offensive comments ( get stuffed etc) where the appropriate entry would be stuff. Remember that when get is used to express the idea that a job is done not by you but by somebody else ( to get a room painted etc) faire is used in French followed by an infinitive ( faire repeindre une pièce etc). When get has the meaning of become and is followed by an adjective (to get rich/drunk etc) devenir is sometimes useful but check the appropriate entry (rich, drunk etc) as a single verb often suffices ( s'enrichir, s'enivrer etc). For examples and further uses of get see the entry below.
    A vtr ( p prés - tt- ; prét got ; pp got, gotten US)
    1 ( receive) recevoir [letter, school report, grant] ; recevoir, percevoir [salary, pension] ; TV, Radio capter [channel, programme] ; did you get much for it? est-ce que tu en as tiré beaucoup d'argent? ; what did you get for your car? combien as-tu revendu ta voiture? ; we get a lot of rain il pleut beaucoup ici ; our garden gets a lot of sun notre jardin est bien ensoleillé ; we get a lot of tourists nous avons beaucoup de touristes ; you get lots of attachments with this cleaner il y a beaucoup d'accessoires fournis avec cet aspirateur ; you get what you pay for il faut y mettre le prix ; he's getting help with his science il se fait aider en sciences ;
    2 ( inherit) to get sth from sb lit hériter qch de qn [article, money] ; fig tenir qch de qn [trait, feature] ;
    3 ( obtain) ( by applying) obtenir [permission, divorce, custody, licence] ; trouver [job] ; ( by contacting) trouver [plumber, accountant] ; appeler [taxi] ; ( by buying) acheter [food item, clothing] (from chez) ; avoir [theatre seat, ticket] ; to get something for nothing/at a discount avoir qch gratuitement/avec une réduction ; to get sb sth, to get sth for sb ( by buying) acheter qch à qn ; I'll get sth to eat at the airport je mangerai qch à l'aéroport ;
    4 ( subscribe to) acheter [newspaper] ;
    5 ( acquire) se faire [reputation] ; he got his money in oil il s'est fait de l'argent dans le pétrole ;
    6 ( achieve) obtenir [grade, mark, answer] ; he got it right ( of calculation) il a obtenu le bon résultat ; ( of answer) il a répondu juste ; how many do I need to get? ( when scoring) il me faut combien? ; he's got four more points to get il faut encore qu'il obtienne quatre points ;
    7 ( fetch) chercher [object, person, help] ; go and get a chair/Mr Matthews va chercher une chaise/M. Matthews ; to get sb sth, to get sth for sb aller chercher qch pour qn ; get her a chair va lui chercher une chaise ; can I get you your coat? est-ce que je peux vous apporter votre manteau? ;
    8 (manoeuvre, move) to get sb/sth upstairs/downstairs faire monter/descendre qn/qch ; a car to me is just something to get me from A to B pour moi une voiture ne sert qu'à aller de A à B ; I'll get them there somehow je les ferai parvenir d'une façon ou d'une autre ; can you get between the truck and the wall? est-ce que tu peux te glisser entre le camion et le mur? ;
    9 ( help progress) is this discussion getting us anywhere? est-ce que cette discussion est bien utile? ; I listened to him and where has it got me? je l'ai écouté mais à quoi ça m'a avancé? ; this is getting us nowhere ça ne nous avance à rien ; where will that get you? à quoi ça t'avancera? ;
    10 ( contact) did you manage to get Harry on the phone? tu as réussi à avoir Harry au téléphone? ;
    11 ( deal with) I'll get it ( of phone) je réponds ; ( of doorbell) j'y vais ;
    12 ( prepare) préparer [breakfast, lunch etc] ;
    13 ( take hold of) attraper [person] (by à) ; I've got you, don't worry je te tiens, ne t'inquiète pas ; to get sth from ou off prendre qch sur [shelf, table] ; to get sth from ou out of prendre qch dans [drawer, cupboard] ;
    14 ○ ( oblige to give) to get sth from ou out of sb faire sortir qch à qn [money] ; fig obtenir qch de qn [truth] ;
    15 ○ ( catch) gen arrêter [escapee] ; got you! gen je t'ai eu! ; ( caught in act) vu! ; a shark got him un requin l'a eu ; when I get you, you won't find it so funny quand tu auras affaire ○ à moi, tu trouveras ça moins drôle ;
    16 Med attraper [disease] ; he got the measles from his sister sa sœur lui a passé la rougeole ;
    17 ( use as transport) prendre [bus, train] ;
    18 ( have) to have got avoir [object, money, friend etc] ; I've got a headache/bad back j'ai mal à la tête/au dos ;
    19 ( start to have) to get (hold of) the idea ou impression that se mettre dans la tête que ;
    20 ( suffer) to get a surprise être surpris ; to get a shock avoir un choc ; to get a bang on the head recevoir un coup sur la tête ;
    21 ( be given as punishment) prendre [five years etc] ; avoir [fine] ; to get (a) detention être collé ○ ;
    22 ( hit) to get sb/sth with toucher qn/qch avec [stone, arrow, ball] ; got it! ( of target) touché! ; the arrow got him in the heel la flèche l'a touché au talon ;
    23 (understand, hear) comprendre ; I didn't get what you said/his last name je n'ai pas compris ce que tu as dit/son nom de famille ; did you get it? tu as compris? ; now let me get this right… alors si je comprends bien… ; ‘where did you hear that?’-‘I got it from Paul’ ‘où est-ce que tu as entendu ça?’-‘c'est Paul qui me l'a dit’ ; get this! he was arrested this morning tiens-toi bien! il a été arrêté ce matin ;
    24 ○ (annoy, affect) what gets me is… ce qui m'agace c'est que… ; what really got me was… ce que je n'aimais pas c'était… ;
    25 (learn, learn of) to get to do ○ finir par faire ; to get to like sb finir par apprécier qn ; how did you get to know ou hear of our organization? comment avez-vous entendu parler de notre organisation? ; we got to know them last year on a fait leur connaissance l'année dernière ;
    26 ( have opportunity) to get to do avoir l'occasion de faire ; do you get to use the computer? est-ce que tu as l'occasion d'utiliser l'ordinateur? ; it's not fair, I never get to drive the tractor ce n'est pas juste, on ne me laisse jamais conduire le tracteur ; when do we get to eat the cake? quand est-ce qu'on va pouvoir manger le gâteau? ;
    27 ( start) to get (to be) commencer à devenir ; he's getting to be proficient ou an expert il commence à devenir expert ; it got to be quite unpleasant ça a commencé à devenir plutôt désagréable ; he's getting to be a big boy now c'est un grand garçon maintenant ; to get to doing ○ commencer à faire ; we got to talking/dreaming about the holidays on a commencé à parler/rêver des vacances ; then I got to thinking that puis je me suis dit que ; we'll have to get going il va falloir y aller ;
    28 ( must) to have got to do devoir faire [homework, chore] ; it's got to be done il faut le faire ; you've got to realize that il faut que tu te rendes compte que ; if I've got to go, I will s'il faut que j'y aille, j'irai ; there's got to be a reason il doit y avoir une raison ;
    29 ( persuade) to get sb to do demander à qn de faire ; I got her to talk about her problems j'ai réussi à la faire parler de ses problèmes ; did you get anything out of her? est-ce que tu as réussi à la faire parler? ;
    30 ( have somebody do) to get sth done faire faire qch ; to get the car repaired/valeted faire réparer/nettoyer la voiture ; to get one's hair cut se faire couper les cheveux ; how do you ever get anything done? comment est-ce que tu arrives à travailler? ;
    31 ( cause) to get the car going faire démarrer la voiture ; to get the dishes washed faire la vaisselle ; this won't get the dishes washed! la vaisselle ne se fera pas toute seule! ; to get sb pregnant ○ mettre qn enceinte ○ ; as hot/cold as you can get it aussi chaud/froid que possible ; to get one's socks wet mouiller ses chaussettes ; to get one's finger trapped se coincer le doigt.
    B vi ( p prés - tt- ; prét got ; pp got, gotten US)
    1 ( become) devenir [suspicious, rich, old] ; how lucky/stupid can you get! il y en a qui ont de la chance/qui sont vraiment stupides! ; it's getting late il se fait tard ; how did he get like that? comment est-ce qu'il en est arrivé là? ;
    2 ( forming passive) to get (oneself) killed/trapped se faire tuer/coincer ; to get hurt être blessé ;
    3 ( become involved in) to get into ○ ( as hobby) se mettre à [astrology etc] ; ( as job) commencer dans [teaching, publishing] ; fig to get into a fight se battre ;
    4 ( arrive) to get there arriver ; to get to the airport/Switzerland arriver à l'aéroport/en Suisse ; to get (up) to the top ( of hill etc) arriver au sommet ; how did your coat get here? comment est-ce que ton manteau est arrivé là? ; how did you get here? ( by what miracle) comment est-ce que tu es arrivé là? ; ( by what means) comment est-ce que tu es venu? ; where did you get to? où est-ce que tu étais passé? ; we've got to page 5 nous en sommes à la page 5 ;
    5 ( progress) it got to 7 o'clock il était plus de 7 heures ; I'd got as far as underlining the title j'en étais à souligner le titre ; I'm getting nowhere with this essay je n'avance pas dans ma dissertation ; are you getting anywhere with your investigation? est-ce que votre enquête avance? ; now we're getting somewhere ( making progress) on avance vraiment ; ( receiving fresh lead) voilà quelque chose d'intéressant ; it's a slow process but we're getting there c'est un processus lent, mais on avance ; it's not perfect yet but we're getting there ce n'est pas encore parfait mais on avance ;
    6 ○ ( put on) to get into mettre [pyjamas, overalls].
    get ○ ! fiche-moi le camp ○ ! ; get along with you ○ ! ne sois pas ridicule! ; get away with you ○ ! arrête de raconter n'importe quoi ○ ! ; get her ○ ! regarde-moi ça! ; get him ○ in that hat! regarde-le avec ce chapeau! ; he got his ○ ( was killed) il a cassé sa pipe ○ ; I'll get you ○ for that je vais te le faire payer ○ ; I'm getting there je progresse ; it gets me right here! tu vas me faire pleurer! ; I've/he's got it bad ○ je suis/il est vraiment mordu ; I've got it je sais ; to get above oneself commencer à avoir la grosse tête ○ ; to get it together ○ se ressaisir ; to get it up ● bander ●, avoir une érection ; to get one's in ○ US prendre sa revanche ; to tell sb where to get off envoyer qn promener ; to get with it ○ se mettre dans le coup ○ ; what's got into her/them? qu'est-ce qui lui/leur a pris? ; where does he get off ○ ? pour qui se prend-il? ; you've got me there! alors là tu me poses une colle ○ !
    1 ( manage to move) se déplacer (by doing en faisant) ; she doesn't get about very well now elle a du mal à se déplacer maintenant ;
    2 ( travel) voyager, se déplacer ; do you get about much in your job? vous voyagez beaucoup pour votre travail? ; he gets about a bit ( travels) il voyage pas mal ; ( knows people) il connaît du monde ;
    3 ( be spread) [news] se répandre ; [rumour] courir, se répandre ; it got about that la nouvelle s'est répandue que, le bruit a couru que.
    1 ( pass to other side) traverser ;
    2 ( be communicated) [message] passer ;
    ▶ get across [sth] ( cross) traverser [river, road etc] ;
    ▶ get [sth] across
    1 ( transport) how will we get it across? (over stream, gap etc) comment est-ce qu'on le/la fera passer de l'autre côté? ; I'll get a copy across to you (in separate office, building etc) je vous en ferai parvenir un exemplaire ;
    2 ( communicate) faire passer [message, meaning] (to à) ;
    ▶ get across [sb] ○ US ( annoy) se mettre [qn] à dos ○ [person].
    1 ( make progress) [person] progresser ; to get ahead of prendre de l'avance sur [competitor] ;
    1 ( progress) how's the project getting along? comment est-ce que le projet se présente? ; how are you getting along? ( in job) comment ça se passe? ; ( to sick or old person) comment ça va? ; ( in school subject) comment est-ce que ça se passe? ;
    2 ( cope) s'en sortir ; we can't get along without a computer/him on ne s'en sortira pas sans ordinateur/lui ;
    3 ( be suited as friends) bien s'entendre (with avec) ;
    4 (go) I must be getting along il faut que j'y aille.
    1 (move, spread) = get about ;
    2 to get around to doing: she'll get around to visiting us eventually elle va bien finir par venir nous voir ; I must get around to reading his article il faut vraiment que je lise son article ; I haven't got around to it yet je n'ai pas encore eu le temps de m'en occuper ;
    ▶ get around [sth] ( circumvent) contourner [problem, law] ; there's no getting around it il n'y a rien à faire.
    ■ get at ○:
    ▶ get at [sb /sth]
    1 ( reach) atteindre [object] ; arriver jusqu'à [person] ; fig découvrir [truth] ; let me get at her ( in anger) laissez-moi lui régler son compte ○ ;
    2 ( spoil) the ants have got at the sugar les fourmis ont attaqué le sucre ;
    3 ( criticize) être après [person] ;
    4 ( intimidate) intimider [witness] ;
    5 ( insinuate) what are you getting at? où est-ce que tu veux en venir?
    ■ get away:
    1 ( leave) partir ;
    2 ( escape) [person] s'échapper ; the fish got away le poisson s'est échappé ;
    3 fig ( escape unpunished) to get away with a crime échapper à la justice ; you'll never get away with it! tu ne vas pas t'en tirer comme ça! ; he mustn't be allowed to get away with it il ne faut pas qu'il s'en tire à si bon compte ; she can get away with bright colours elle peut se permettre de porter des couleurs vives ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] away ( for break) emmener [qn] se changer les idées ; to get sb away from a bad influence tenir qn à l'écart d'une mauvaise influence ; to get sth away from sb retirer qch à qn [weapon, dangerous object].
    ▶ get away from [sth]
    1 ( leave) quitter [town] ; I must get away from here ou this place! il faut que je parte d'ici! ; ‘get away from it all’ ( in advert) ‘évadez-vous de votre quotidien’ ;
    2 fig ( deny) nier [fact] ; there's no getting away from it on ne peut pas le nier ;
    3 fig ( leave behind) abandonner [practice, method] ;
    ▶ get away from [sb] lit, fig échapper à.
    ■ get back:
    1 ( return) gen rentrer ; ( after short time) revenir ; when we get back à notre retour ;
    2 ( move backwards) reculer ; get back! reculez! ;
    3 ( take revenge) to get back at se venger de [aggressor] ;
    ▶ get back to [sth]
    1 ( return to) rentrer à [house, city] ; revenir à [office, centre, point] ; we got back to Belgium nous sommes rentrés en Belgique ; when we get back to London à notre retour à Londres ;
    2 ( return to former condition) revenir à [teaching, publishing] ; to get back to sleep se rendormir ; to get back to normal redevenir normal ;
    3 ( return to earlier stage) revenir à [main topic, former point] ; to get back to your problem,… pour en revenir à votre problème,… ;
    ▶ get back to [sb]
    1 ( return to) revenir à [group, person] ;
    2 ( on telephone) I'll get right back to you je vous rappelle tout de suite ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] back
    1 ( return) ( personally) ramener [object, person] ; ( by post etc) renvoyer ; Sport ( in tennis etc) renvoyer [ball] ; when they got him back to his cell quand ils l'ont ramené dans sa cellule ;
    2 ( regain) récupérer [lost object, loaned item] ; fig reprendre [strength] ; she got her money back elle a été remboursée ; she got her old job back on lui a redonné son travail ; he got his girlfriend back il s'est remis avec sa petite amie ○.
    ▶ get behind ( delayed) prendre du retard ;
    ▶ get behind [sth] se mettre derrière [hedge, sofa etc].
    ■ get by
    1 ( pass) passer ;
    2 ( survive) se débrouiller (on, with avec) ; we'll never get by without him/them nous ne nous en sortirons jamais sans lui/eux.
    ■ get down:
    1 ( descend) descendre (from, out of de) ;
    2 ( leave table) quitter la table ;
    3 ( lower oneself) ( to floor) se coucher ; ( to crouching position) se baisser ; to get down on one's knees s'agenouiller ; to get down to ( descend to reach) arriver à [lower level etc] ; atteindre [trapped person etc] ; ( apply oneself to) se mettre à [work] ; to get down to the pupils' level fig se mettre à la portée des élèves ; let's get down to business parlons affaires ; when you get right down to it quand on regarde d'un peu plus près ; to get down to doing se mettre à faire ;
    ▶ get down [sth] descendre [slope] ; if we get down the mountain alive si nous arrivons vivants en bas de la montagne ; when we got down the hill quand nous nous sommes retrouvés en bas de la colline ;
    ▶ get [sth] down, get down [sth]
    1 ( from height) descendre [book, jar etc] ;
    2 ( swallow) avaler [medicine, pill] ;
    3 ( record) noter [speech, dictation] ;
    ▶ get [sb] down
    1 ( from height) faire descendre [person] ;
    2 ○ ( depress) déprimer [person].
    ■ get in:
    ▶ get in
    1 lit ( to building) entrer ; ( to vehicle) monter ;
    2 fig ( participate) to get in on réussir à s'introduire dans [project, scheme] ; to get in on the deal ○ faire partie du coup ;
    3 ( return home) rentrer ;
    4 ( arrive at destination) [train, coach] arriver ;
    5 ( penetrate) [water, sunlight] pénétrer ;
    6 Pol [Labour, Tories etc] passer ; [candidate] être élu ;
    7 Sch, Univ [applicant] être admis ;
    8 ( associate) to get in with se mettre bien avec [person] ; he's got in with a bad crowd il traîne avec des gens peu recommandables ;
    ▶ get [sth] in, get in [sth]
    1 ( buy in) acheter [supplies] ;
    2 ( fit into space) I can't get the drawer in je n'arrive pas à faire rentrer le tiroir ;
    3 Agric ( harvest) rentrer [crop] ;
    4 Hort ( plant) planter [bulbs etc] ;
    5 (deliver, hand in) rendre [essay, competition entry] ;
    6 ( include) (in article, book) placer [section, remark, anecdote] ; he got in a few punches il a distribué quelques coups ;
    7 ( fit into schedule) faire [tennis, golf] ; I'll try to get in a bit of tennis ○ j'essayerai de faire un peu de tennis ;
    ▶ get [sb] in faire entrer [person].
    ■ get into:
    ▶ get into [sth]
    1 ( enter) entrer dans [building] ; monter dans [vehicle] ;
    2 ( be admitted) ( as member) devenir membre de [club] ; ( as student) être admis à [school, university] ; I didn't know what I was getting into fig je ne savais pas dans quoi je m'embarquais ;
    3 ( squeeze into) rentrer dans [garment, size] ; ⇒ debt, habit, trouble ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] into faire entrer [qn/qch] dans [good school, building, room, space].
    ■ get off:
    ▶ get off
    1 ( from bus etc) descendre (at à) ;
    2 ( start on journey) partir ;
    3 ( leave work) finir ;
    4 ○ ( escape punishment) s'en tirer (with avec) ;
    5 to get off to partir pour [destination] ; did they get off to school OK? est-ce qu'ils sont partis sans problèmes pour l'école? ; ( make headway) to get off to a good/poor start prendre un bon/mauvais départ ; to get off to sleep s'endormir ; to get off on doing ○ péj ( get buzz from) prendre plaisir à faire ; to get off with, GB rencontrer, ramasser ○ pej [person] ;
    ▶ get off [sth]
    1 ( climb down from) descendre de [wall, ledge] ;
    2 ( alight from) descendre de [bus etc] ;
    3 ( remove oneself from) get off my nice clean floor/the grass ne marche pas sur mon sol tout propre/la pelouse ;
    4 fig ( depart from) s'écarter de [subject] ;
    ▶ get off ○ [sb] ( leave hold) get off me! lâche-moi! ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] off
    1 ( lift down) descendre [object] ; faire descendre [person] ;
    2 ( dispatch) envoyer [parcel, letter, person] ; I've got the children off to school j'ai envoyé les enfants à l'école ;
    3 ( remove) enlever [stain] ;
    4 ○ ( send to sleep) endormir [baby].
    ■ get on:
    ▶ get on
    1 ( climb aboard) monter (at à) ;
    2 ( work) get on a bit faster/more sensibly travaille un peu plus vite/plus sérieusement ;
    3 ( continue with work) let's get on! continuons! ;
    4 GB ( like each other) bien s'entendre ;
    5 ( fare) how did you get on? comment est-ce que ça s'est passé? ;
    6 ( cope) how are you getting on? comment est-ce que tu t'en sors? ;
    7 GB ( approach) he's getting on for 40 il approche des quarante ans ; it's getting on for midnight il est presque minuit ; there are getting on for 80 people ○ il y a presque 80 personnes ;
    8 ( grow late) time's getting on le temps passe ;
    9 ( grow old) to be getting on a bit commencer à vieillir ;
    ▶ get on [sth] ( board) monter dans [vehicle] ;
    ▶ get [sth] on, get on [sth] ( put on) mettre [boots, clothing] ; monter [tyre] ; mettre [lid, tap washer etc].
    ■ get onto:
    ▶ get onto [sth]
    1 ( board) monter dans [vehicle] ;
    2 ( be appointed) être nommé à [Board] ;
    3 ( start to discuss) arriver à parler de [topic, subject] ;
    4 GB ( contact) contacter ; I'll get on to the authorities je contacterai les autorités.
    ▶ get on with [sth] ( continue to do) to get on with one's work/with preparing the meal continuer à travailler/à préparer le repas ; let's get on with the job! au travail! ;
    ▶ get on with [sb] GB s'entendre avec [person].
    ■ get out:
    ▶ get out
    1 ( exit) sortir (through, by par) ; get out and don't come back! va-t'en et ne reviens pas! ; they'll never get out alive ils ne s'en sortiront jamais vivants ;
    2 ( make social outing) sortir ; you should get out more tu devrais sortir plus ;
    3 (resign, leave) partir ;
    4 ( alight) descendre ;
    5 ( be let out) [prisoner] être libéré ; he gets out on the 8th il sera libéré le 8 ;
    6 ( leak) [news] être révélé ;
    ▶ get [sth] out, get out [sth]
    1 ( bring out) sortir [handkerchief, ID card] ;
    2 ( extract) retirer [cork, stuck object] ; extraire [tooth] ;
    3 ( erase) enlever [stain] ;
    4 ( take on loan) emprunter [library book] ;
    5 ( produce) sortir [plans, product] ;
    6 ( utter) I couldn't get the words out les mots ne voulaient pas sortir ;
    7 ( solve) faire [puzzle] ;
    ▶ get [sb] out ( release) faire libérer [prisoner] ; to get sb out of sth ( free from detention) ( personally) libérer qn de qch ; ( by persuasion) faire libérer qn de qch [prisoner] ; to get sth out of sth ( bring out) sortir qch de qch [handkerchief etc] ; ( find and remove) récupérer qch dans qch [required object, stuck object] ; I can't get it out of my mind je ne peux pas l'effacer de mon esprit.
    ▶ get out of [sth]
    1 ( exit from) sortir de [building, bed] ;
    2 ( alight from) descendre de [vehicle] ;
    3 ( leave at end of) sortir de [meeting] ;
    4 ( be freed from) être libéré de [prison] ;
    5 ( withdraw from) quitter [organization] ; échapper à [responsibilities] ; he's got out of oil ○ ( as investment) il a vendu toutes ses actions dans le pétrole ;
    6 ( avoid doing) s'arranger pour ne pas aller à [appointment, meeting] ; I'll try to get out of it j'essaierai de me libérer ; I accepted the invitation and now I can't get out of it j'ai accepté l'invitation et maintenant je ne peux pas me défiler ○ ; to get out of doing s'arranger pour ne pas faire ;
    7 ( no longer do) perdre [habit] ;
    8 ( gain from) what do you get out of your job? qu'est-ce que ton travail t'apporte? ; what will you get out of it? qu'est-ce que vous en retirerez?
    ■ get over:
    ▶ get over ( cross) passer ;
    ▶ get over [sth]
    1 ( cross) traverser [bridge, stream] ;
    2 ( recover from) se remettre de [illness, shock] ; to get over the fact that se remettre du fait que ; I can't get over it ( in amazement) je n'en reviens pas ; I couldn't get over how she looked ça m'a fait un choc de la voir comme ça ; I can't get over how you've grown je n'en reviens pas de ce que tu as grandi ;
    3 ( surmount) surmonter [problem] ; to get sth over with en finir avec qch ; let's get it over with finissons-en ;
    4 ( stop loving) oublier ; she never got over him elle ne l'a jamais oublié ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] over
    1 ( cause to cross) faire passer [injured person, object] ; faire passer [qn/ qch] au-dessus de [bridge, wall etc] ;
    2 ( cause to arrive) get the plumber over here at once faites venir tout de suite le plombier ;
    3 ( communicate) faire passer [message].
    ■ get round GB:
    ▶ get round [sth] = get around [sth] ;
    ▶ get round ○ [sb] persuader [qn], avoir [qn] au sentiment ○ ; can't you get round him? est-ce que tu ne peux pas le persuader? ; she easily gets round her father elle fait tout ce qu'elle veut de son père.
    1 ( squeeze through) passer ;
    2 Telecom to get through to sb avoir qn au téléphone ; I couldn't get through je n'ai pas réussi à l'avoir ;
    3 to get through to ( communicate with) convaincre [person] ;
    4 ( arrive) [news, supplies] arriver ;
    5 ( survive) s'en sortir (by doing en faisant) ;
    6 Sch, Univ [examinee] réussir ;
    ▶ get through [sth]
    1 ( make way through) traverser [checkpoint, mud] ;
    2 ( reach end of) terminer [book, revision] ; finir [meal, task] ; [actor] finir [performance] ;
    3 ( survive mentally) I thought I'd never get through the week j'ai cru que je ne tiendrais pas la semaine ;
    4 ( complete successfully) [candidate, competitor] réussir à [exam, qualifying round] ; I got through the interview l'entretien s'est bien passé ;
    5 (consume, use) manger [supply of food] ; boire [supply of drink] ; dépenser [money] ; I get through two notebooks a week il me faut or j'use deux carnets par semaine ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] through
    1 ( squeeze through) faire passer [car, object, person] ;
    2 ( help to endure) [pills, encouragement, strength of character] aider [qn] à continuer ; her advice/these pills got me through the day ses conseils/ces comprimés m'ont aidé à tenir le coup ○ ;
    3 ( help through frontier etc) faire passer [person, imported goods] ;
    4 Sch, Univ ( help to pass) permettre à [qn] de réussir [candidate] ;
    5 Pol faire passer [bill].
    ▶ get together ( assemble) se réunir (about, over pour discuter de) ;
    ▶ get [sb/sth] together, get together [sb/sth]
    1 ( assemble) réunir [different people, groups] ;
    2 ( accumulate) réunir [money] ; rassembler [food parcels, truckload] ;
    3 ( form) former [company, action group].
    ■ get under:
    ▶ get under passer en-dessous ;
    ▶ get under [sth] passer sous [barrier, floorboards etc].
    ■ get up:
    ▶ get up
    1 (from bed, chair etc) se lever (from de) ; get up off the grass! ne reste pas sur l'herbe! ;
    2 (on horse, ledge etc) monter ; how did you get up there? comment est-ce que tu es monté là-haut? ;
    3 Meteorol [storm] se préparer ; [wind] se lever ;
    4 to get up to ( reach) arriver à [page, upper floor] ; what did you get up to? fig ( sth enjoyable) qu'est-ce que tu as fait de beau? ; ( sth mischievous) qu'est-ce que tu as fabriqué ○ ? ;
    ▶ get up [sth]
    1 arriver en haut de [hill, ladder] ;
    2 ( increase) augmenter [speed] ;
    3 (start, muster) former [group] ; faire [petition] ; obtenir [support, sympathy] ;
    ▶ get [sth] up organiser ;
    ▶ get [oneself] up ○ in mettre [outfit].

    Big English-French dictionary > get

  • 8 become

    past tense - became; verb
    1) (to come or grow to be: Her coat has become badly torn; She has become even more beautiful.) volverse, ponerse, convertirse
    2) (to qualify or take a job as: She became a doctor.) hacerse, llegar a ser
    3) ((with of) to happen to: What became of her son?) ser de
    4) (to suit: That dress really becomes her.) sentar bien, quedar bien
    •
    - becomingly
    become vb
    1. hacerse / convertirse en / llegar a ser
    2. hacerse / volverse / ponerse
    she became angry se puso furiosa / se enfadó
    tr[bɪ'kʌm]
    intransitive verb (pt became tr[bɪ'keɪm], pp become tr[bɪ'kʌm])
    1 (with noun) convertirse en, hacerse, llegar a ser
    ■ to become a doctor/teacher hacerse médico,-a/maestro,-a
    2 (change into) convertirse en, transformarse en
    ■ to become mad volverse loco,-a, enloquecer
    ■ to become fat ponerse gordo,-a, engordar
    ■ to become angry ponerse enfadado,-a, enfadarse
    ■ to become sad ponerse triste, entristecerse
    ■ to become deaf quedarse sordo,-a, ensordecerse
    ■ to become blind quedarse ciego,-a
    1 dated (suit) sentarle bien, favorecer
    2 dated (befit) ser propio,-a de, convenir
    \
    SMALLIDIOMATIC EXPRESSION/SMALL
    what has become of...? ¿qué ha sido de...?
    ■ what has become of your sister? ¿qué ha sido de tu hermana?
    become [bɪ'kʌm] v, - came [-'keɪm] ; - come ; - coming vi
    : hacerse, volverse, ponerse
    he became famous: se hizo famoso
    to become sad: ponerse triste
    to become accustomed to: acostumbrarse a
    become vt
    1) befit: ser apropiado para
    2) suit: favorecer, quedarle bien (a alguien)
    that dress becomes you: ese vestido te favorece
    p.p.
    (Participio pasivo de "to become")
    v.
    (§ p.,p.p.: became, become) = convenir v.
    (§pres: -vengo, -vienes...-venimos) pret: -vin-
    fut: -vendr-•)
    • convertirse v.
    • convertirse en v.
    • devenir v.
    (§pres: -vengo, -vienes...-venimos) pret: -vin-
    fut: -vendr-•)
    • hacerse v.
    • llegar a ser v.
    • ponerse v.
    • resultar v.
    • volverse v.
    bɪ'kʌm
    1.
    (past became; past p become) intransitive verb

    to become arrogant/distant — volverse* arrogante/distante

    to become famous — hacerse* famoso

    she soon became bored/tired — pronto se aburrió/se cansó

    to become a lawyer — hacerse* abogado


    2.
    vt
    a) ( befit) (frml) (often neg) ser* apropiado para
    b) ( suit) favorecer*
    Phrasal Verbs:
    [bɪ'kʌm] (pt became) (pp become)
    1. VI
    1) (=grow to be)

    to become ill — ponerse enfermo, enfermar

    to become old — hacerse or volverse viejo

    to become red — ponerse rojo, enrojecerse

    it became known that... — se supo que..., llegó a saberse que...

    2) (=turn into) convertirse en, transformarse en
    3) (=acquire position of) (through study) hacerse; (by promotion etc) llegar a ser
    2.
    IMPERS VB

    what has become of him? — ¿qué ha sido de él?

    what will become of me? — ¿qué será de mí?

    whatever can have become of that book? — ¿dónde estará ese libro?

    3.
    VT (=look nice on) favorecer, sentar bien
    BECOME, GO, GET The translation of become/go/ get depends on the context and the type of change involved and how it is regarded. Very often there is more than one possible translation, or even a special verb to translate get + ((adjective)) (e.g. get angry - enfadarse), but here are some general hints.
    Become {etc} + adjective
    ► Use pon erse to talk about temporary but normal changes:
    I got quite ill Me puse muy malo
    He went pale Se puso blanco
    You've got very brown Te has puesto muy moreno
    He got very angry Se puso furioso ► Use vol verse to refer to sudden, longer-lasting and unpredictable changes, particularly those affecting the mind:
    He has become very impatient in the last few years Se ha vuelto muy impaciente estos últimos años
    She went mad Se volvió loca ► Use que dar(se) especially when talking about changes that are permanent, involve deterioration and are due to external circumstances. Their onset may or may not be sudden:
    He went blind (Se) quedó ciego
    Goya went deaf Goya (se) quedó sordo
    Q uedar(se) is also used to talk about pregnancy:
    She became pregnant (Se) quedó embarazada ► Use hac erse for states resulting from effort or from a gradual, cumulative process:
    They became very famous Se hicieron muy famosos
    The pain became unbearable El dolor se hizo insoportable ► Use lle gar a ser to suggest reaching a peak:
    The heat became stifling El calor llegó a ser agobiante
    Become {etc} + noun
    ► Use hac erse for career goals and religious or political persuasions:
    He became a lawyer Se hizo abogado
    I became a Catholic in 1990 Me hice católico en 1990
    He became a member of the Green Party Se hizo miembro del Partido Verde ► Use lle gar a + ((noun)) and llegar a ser + ((phrase)) for reaching a peak after a period of gradual change. This construction is often used to talk about professional accomplishments:
    If you don't make more effort, you'll never get to be a teacher Si no te esfuerzas más, no llegarás a profesor
    Castelar became one of the most important politicians of his time Castelar llegó a ser uno de los políticos más importantes de su época
    Football became an obsession for him El fútbol llegó a ser una obsesión para él ► Use con vertirse en for long-lasting changes in character, substance and kind which take place gradually:
    Those youngsters went on to become delinquents Aquellos jóvenes se convirtieron después en delincuentes
    Over the years I have become a more tolerant person Con los años me he convertido en una persona más tolerante
    Water turns into steam El agua se convierte en vapor ► Use que dar(se) + ((adjective)) to talk about changes, particularly when they are permanent, for the worse and due to external circumstances. Their onset may or may not be sudden:
    She became a widow (Se) quedó viuda ► To translate hav e turned into {or} have become {etc} + ((noun)) in emphatic phrases particularly about people, you can use estar hecho un(a) + ((noun)):
    Juan has become a really good pianist Juan está hecho todo un pianista For further uses and examples, see become, go, get, turn
    * * *
    [bɪ'kʌm]
    1.
    (past became; past p become) intransitive verb

    to become arrogant/distant — volverse* arrogante/distante

    to become famous — hacerse* famoso

    she soon became bored/tired — pronto se aburrió/se cansó

    to become a lawyer — hacerse* abogado


    2.
    vt
    a) ( befit) (frml) (often neg) ser* apropiado para
    b) ( suit) favorecer*
    Phrasal Verbs:

    English-spanish dictionary > become

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