Soar Methodological Assumptions: Orthogonal Mechanisms
The Soar approach is in opposition to modular mind theories such as
Minsky's
society of mind
hypothesis.
Intelligent behaviors are posited to involve nearly all of the set
of available mechanisms. In addition, these mechanisms do not overlap
in functionality, allowing the architecture to remain uniform and simple
without a modular decomposition of functional capabilities. This
decision constrains Soar designers to stay within the architecture when
adding functionality. This again is opposed to many systems which just
add new modules for new functions
(c.f., PRODIGY's
learning modules).
However, this constraint may force
new (and better) solutions to difficult problems and reveal new
interactions between the mechanisms. It also allows the
high-level architecture
to remain relatively fixed throughout versions of the architecture:
only when a new capability is impossible within the constraints imposed
by the architecture is a new mechanism incorporated.
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Methodological Assumptions
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