Two kinds of application
In the workshop, we ask: what organization should be built so that the required result can be reproduced?
In the bumblebee example, we ask: which organization of transitions best describes the observed life cycle within the chosen boundary?
In the first case, the design can change the subject itself. In the second, our model of the subject changes. This distinction is preserved throughout the stages.
Attention
What are we looking at? In designing a philosophical machine, attention is the selection of the subject that now receives computational resources.
The subject is richer than its record
A drill is sitting in the workshop. The inventory might record “one, working.” To use it in a plan, we also need its owner, the permitted uses, its period of availability, and any obligation to return it.
The subject, information about the subject, and an explanation of that information are different objects of reasoning. Inspection confirms presence. The owner’s words report the conditions. The designer’s decision determines whether those conditions are sufficient for the accepted task.
Adapted reading sample from the opening pages. The complete introduction continues in the book.
