Read the following sections from the
Simon paper (The Architecture of
Complexity):
Introduction through page 471.
Skip the sections on "Problem Solving as Natural Selection" and
"The Sources of Selectivity" on pages 472 and 473.
Read from "On Empires and Empire Building" (page 473) to
"Conclusion: The Evolutionary Explanation of Hierarchy" (page 473)
The section on Nearly Decomposable Systems (end of page 473 to
beginning of 477) is optional.
Skim from "The Description of Complexity" to the end of the paper, trying
discover Simon's point, without reading every paragraph
in detail. Skimming to
find the main ideas (and deciding when skimming is appropriate) is a talent
that is worth learning. You will find it useful in other 6.033 papers and
generally in reading professional literature.
At first read, this paper appears to have very little to do with
computer systems. As you are reading it, try to figure out why it was
assigned. It may help to notice that it was written in 1962 and to
know that Herbert Simon is one of the founding figures in artificial
intelligence, a winner of the Turing Award, a recipient of the Nobel
Prize in Economics, and a co-founder of the School of Computer Science
at Carnegie Mellon University. Simon contends that hierarchy is a
principal organizing force in social, biological, and physical
systems. To prepare for class on Thursday, write down and be prepared
to discuss three examples of hierarchies in computer systems or networks.