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Herbert A. Simon

American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist (1916-2001) · United States · Academics · Died at 84

Herbert A. Simon is read about 579 times a day, in 63 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

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He cracked the code on how humans actually decide - not as perfect calculators, but as creatures settling for "good enough" under pressure. That insight, "bounded rationality," won him a Nobel and reshaped economics, AI, and management in one stroke.

AcademicsAcademicEconomicsPoliticsUnited StatesAmericas20th Century

A life in dates

2001Died9 February 20012000John Gaus AwardAward1995IJCAI Award for Research ExcellenceAward1994“Economic man deals with the "real world" in all its complexity. Administrative man recognizes that the world he perceives is a drastic simplified model...”In their wordsp. xxix; As cited in: Jesper Simonsen (1994) Administrative Behavior: How Organizations can be Understood in Terms of Decision Processes.

ACM FellowAward1993APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to PsychologyAward1989William James Fellow AwardAward1988John von Neumann Theory PrizeAward1987Harold Pender AwardAward1986National Medal of ScienceAward1984Josiah Willard Gibbs LectureshipAward1983Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montpellier-IIIAward1978Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelAward1975Turing AwardAward1969APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to PsychologyAward1956“Over Christmas, Allen Newell and I created a thinking machine.”In their wordsSimon (1956) quoted on CMU Libraries: Problem Solving Research

1954Fellow of the Econometric SocietyAward1947“The world you perceive is drastically simplified model of the real world.”In their wordsp. xxvi.

“A major task in organizing is to determine, first, where the knowledge is located that can provide the various kinds of factual premises that decisions require.”In their wordsp. 24.

1945“The criterion of efficiency dictates that choice of alternatives which produces the largest result for the given application of resources.”In their wordsSimon (1945, p. 179); As cited in: Harry M. Johnson (1966) Sociology: A Systematic Introduction. p. 287.

“The techniques of the practitioner are usually called 'synthetic'. He designs by organizing known principles and devices into larger systems.”In their wordsSimon (1945, p. 353); As cited in: Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences (2009) p. 425.

1916Born15 June 1916

Also in Deutsch

Photos 3

Simon (left) in a chess match against Allen Newell c. 1958Simon (left) in a chess match against Allen Newell c. 1958Simon's three stages in Rational Decision Making: Intelligence, Design, Choice (IDC)Simon's three stages in Rational Decision Making: Intelligence, Design, Choice (IDC)

In their own words 10

,
Herbert A. Simon
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Economic man deals with the "real world" in all its complexity. Administrative man recognizes that the world he perceives is a drastic simplified model...

    1994, p. xxix; As cited in: Jesper Simonsen (1994) Administrative Behavior: How Organizations can be Understood in Terms of Decision Processes., Own words

  2. It is not my aim to surprise or shock you - but the simplest way I can summarize is to say that there are now in the world machines that think, that learn and that create.

    1958, Newell & Simon (1958), quoted in AI, by Daniel Crevier, Own words

  3. Over Christmas, Allen Newell and I created a thinking machine.

    1956, Simon (1956) quoted on CMU Libraries: Problem Solving Research, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

John Gaus Award2000
IJCAI Award for Research Excellence1995
ACM Fellow1994
APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology1993
AAAI Fellow1990
William James Fellow Award1989
John von Neumann Theory Prize1988
Harold Pender Award1987
National Medal of Science1986
Josiah Willard Gibbs Lectureship1984
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montpellier-III1983
William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement1980
Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel1978
Turing Award1975
APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology1969
Fellow of the Econometric Society1954
Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society

About this person

Born June 15, 1916, Simon spent most of his career at Carnegie Mellon from 1949 until his death in 2001, helping establish one of the world's first computer science departments. His core obsession was decision-making inside organizations, which led him to reject the fantasy of rational actors and argue instead that people "satisfice" - seek workable solutions within limits. The theory earned him the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1978. Three years earlier, he and Allen Newell had shared the Turing Award for pioneering artificial intelligence and information processing. Along the way he analyzed the architecture of complexity and proposed mechanisms behind power law distributions, stitching together cognitive science, public administration, and complex systems into a single interdisciplinary lens. He died February 9, 2001.

Country
United States
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1916 to 2001 · aged 84

In common with Herbert

Geoffrey HintonBoth received IJCAI Award for Research ExcellenceJoseph StiglitzBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelDaniel KahnemanBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelJohn McCarthyBoth received IJCAI Award for Research ExcellenceJames G. MarchBoth received John Gaus AwardElinor OstromBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

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