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Chapter 6 - Embodied Heuristics

from Part II - Intuition and Its Intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2023

Gerd Gigerenzer
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
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Summary

Intelligence evolved to cope with situations of uncertainty generated by nature, predators, and the behavior of conspecifics. To this end, humans and other animals acquired special abilities, including heuristics that allow for swift action in face of scarce information. In this chapter, I introduce the concept of embodied heuristics, that is, innate or learned rules of thumb that exploit evolved sensory and motor abilities in order to facilitate superior decisions. I provide a case study of the gaze heuristic, which solves coordination problems from intercepting prey to catching a fly ball. Various species have adapted this heuristic to their specific sensorimotor abilities, such as vision, echolocation, running, and flying. Humans have enlisted it for solving tasks beyond its original purpose, a process akin to exaptation. The gaze heuristic also made its way into rocket technology. I propose a systematic study of embodied heuristics as a research framework for situated cognition and embodied bounded rationality.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Embodied Heuristics
  • Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
  • Book: The Intelligence of Intuition
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009304887.009
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  • Embodied Heuristics
  • Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
  • Book: The Intelligence of Intuition
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009304887.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Embodied Heuristics
  • Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
  • Book: The Intelligence of Intuition
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009304887.009
Available formats
×