50 Information Storage and Neural Control 



With this analogy in mind, it is easier to elaborate on the other 

 points. One may argue that having discovered one set of opera- 

 tions which accounts for the behavior of a computer system does 

 not assure us that the same set of operations is involved in the 

 human system. This is a truism which also applies to mathe- 

 matical theorizing; that is to say, more than one equation can 

 fit the same set of data. Ultimately, we must live with this prob- 

 lem, for if a theory accounts for all data within its domain, then 

 it is as good as a theory can be even though there is no assurance 

 that its underlying assumptions have any basis in reality. Such 

 considerations have forced philosophers of science to conclude that 

 reality has no meaning; we can only ask if the assumptions work, 

 not if they are real. The job of the scientist is that of the inven- 

 tor who creates descriptions, not of the explorer who discovers 

 reality. 



Even leaving this ultimate state aside, it is important to con- 

 tinue on this same point, but at a more practical level. If we have 

 a program which accounts for a small segment of human behavior, 

 how have we progressed? Seldom are we satisfied with a theory 

 of small segments of behavior. Let us expand our program until 

 it is more encompassing. If this can be done by making use of 

 some of the same postulated operations, we achieve the parsimony 

 which we seek. Let us look at programs written by other people 

 to describe other things. If they consist of markedly similar por- 

 tions, then we again have made progress. Eventually, when a 

 certain process or feature has turned up frequently enough as an 

 asset, we may forget our philosophy and begin to look within the 

 human system to see if we cannot find independent evidence for 

 the existence of some such process. We have thus generated two 

 types of hypotheses: those which make predictions about similar 

 types of behavior, and those which give us clues about the com- 

 position of the organism. I shall return to some examples of the 

 latter at the conclusion of this paper. 



The third point on which I wish to elaborate is a matter of 

 practical research strategy. The process of simulation provides an 

 important fringe benefit which becomes apparent only after trial. 



It has long been a feature of psychological theorizing that 

 would-be theories suffer from chronic vagueness. The result is 



