Efficient Cognition

Efficient Cognition
Author: Armin W. Schulz
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2022-11-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0262546736

An argument that representational decision making is more cognitively efficient, allowing an organism to adjust more easily to changes in the environment. Many organisms (including humans) make decisions by relying on mental representations. Not simply a reaction triggered by perception, representational decision making employs high-level, non-perceptual mental states with content to manage interactions with the environment. A person making a decision based on mental representations, for example, takes a step back from her perceptions at the time to assess the nature of the world she lives in. But why would organisms rely on representational decision making, and what evolutionary benefits does this reliance provide to the decision maker? In Efficient Cognition, Armin Schulz argues that representational decision making can be more cognitively efficient than non-representational decision making. Specifically, he shows that a key driver in the evolution of representational decision making is that mental representations can enable an organism to save cognitive resources and adjust more efficiently to changed environments. After laying out the foundations of his argument—clarifying the central questions, the characterization of representational decision making, and the relevance of an evidential form of evolutionary psychology—Schulz presents his account of the evolution of representational decision making and critically considers some of the existing accounts of the subject. He then applies his account to three open questions concerning the nature of representational decision making: the extendedness of decision making, and when we should expect cognition to extend into the environment; the specialization of decision making and the use of simple heuristics; and the psychological sources of altruistic behaviors.

X-Efficiency Evolution

X-Efficiency Evolution
Author: Nathanael Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2009
Genre:
ISBN:

While mainstream economics assumes that firms are always on the production frontier, there is an evolutionary interpretation of competition according to which firms have different degrees of what Leibenstein (1964) called quot;X-efficiency,quot; and competition selects for higher X-efficiency. This concept of competition is implemented in an quot;agent-based simulation.quot; Firms producing a generic consumption good are endowed with X-efficiencies, which undergo mutation. Even when mutations are mostly negative, selection effects can make productivity rise over time. There is no logical limit to the increase in productivity due to quot;X-efficiency evolution,quot; which is thus a potential explanation of long-run productivity (or quot;TFPquot;) growth.

The Evolution of Efficient Common Law

The Evolution of Efficient Common Law
Author: Paul H. Rubin
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Common law
ISBN: 9781845424428

Rubin (economics and law, Emory U.) presents a selection of 22 of the most important articles on the evolution of efficient common law, published in a variety of legal journals between 1977 and 2006, and reproduced here in their original format. The text includes both articles that support the hypothesis of efficient evolution, and articles that argue the evolutionary process is not efficient. Prefaced by Rubin's introductory overview of the topic, the articles are organized into seven sections covering the originations of common law efficiency, the first critics, critical examinations looking explicitly at evolutionary processes, biased evolution, specific applications of the law, Hayekian (macro) efficiency, and a summary of the law. No subject index.

Fundamentals of Enzyme Kinetics

Fundamentals of Enzyme Kinetics
Author: Athel Cornish-Bowden
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483161196

Fundamentals of Enzyme Kinetics details the rate of reactions catalyzed by different enzymes and the effects of varying the conditions on them. The book includes the basic principles of chemical kinetics, especially the order of a reaction and its rate constraints. The text also gives an introduction to enzyme kinetics - the idea of an enzyme-substrate complex; the Michaelis-Menten equation; the steady state treatment; and the validity of its assumption. Practical considerations, the derivation of steady-state rate equations, inhibitors and activators, and two-substrate reactions are also explained. Problems after the end of each chapter have also been added, as well as their solutions at the end of the book, to test the readers' learning. The text is highly recommended for undergraduate students in biochemistry who wish to study about enzymes or focus completely on enzymology, as most of the mathematics used in this book, which have been explained in detail to remove most barriers of understanding, is elementary.

Energy Efficiency

Energy Efficiency
Author: Fereidoon Sioshansi
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 678
Release: 2013-02-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0123978874

Energy Efficiency: Towards the End of Demand Growth is a detailed guide to new energy efficiency technologies and policy frameworks affecting the profitability of efficiency projects. The contributions drawn together by F.P. Sioshansi feature insights from recognized thought leaders, detailed examinations of evolving technologies, and practical case studies yielding best practices for project planners, implementers and financiers. This volume challenges the "more is better" paradigm in energy production, examining efficiency technologies and measurement across the supply chain. Comparative financial analysis of efficiency vs. increased generation Case studies from four continents highlight the examples of successful technologies and projects Explains how existing and developing regulatory frameworks impact cost and implementation