ABSTRACT
To some people the term 'problem-solving' is more or less synonymous with that of 'thinking'. To others, 'thinking' includes much else besides including the processes of recognising problems, using language, being creative and original, evaluating situations and even being irrational. An important distinction underlies the whole field of artificial intelligence and the computer simulation of thinking. Heuristics are important to work on artificial intelligence for two reasons. The first is that they may be used in situations in which there are no known algorithms, so that a solution may be found which could not be found in any other way. The second reason for the importance of heuristics to artificial intelligence is that, if used, they may save a great deal of computing time over algorithms. The chapter describes a variety of examples of computer problem-solving programmes, showing that the computer can perform many more of the functions of the human nervous system than people might initially have thought possible.
