The machine metaphor is deeply rooted in western culture andcomplex systemsin nature and society are often interpretedin such terms. With the advent of electronic computers, themachine metaphor applied to thinking and to thebrain hasbecome even more pertinent. The idea of a machine has itselfchanged over time. In this book these transformations aremade transparent, various aspects of the machine metaphorare discussed and limitations and pitfalls of the metaphorare elaborated. The chapters are written in a non-technicalfashion and are accessible to a large audience ofscientistsand also to laymen interested in the scientific perspectivesand logical foundations of the machine concept that has beenso influential in western thinking.
