?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=On+the+Nature+of+Intelligence%3A+The+Relevance+of+Statistical+Mechanics&rft.creator=Snyder%2C+Douglas+M.&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Neurophysiology&rft.description=A+conundrum+that+results+from+the+normal+distribution+of+intelligence+is+explored.+The+conundrum+concerns+the+chief+characteristic+of+intelligence%2C+the+ability+to+find+order+in+the+world+(or+to+know+the+world)+on+the+one+hand%2C+and+the+random+processes+that+are+the+foundation+of+the+normal+distribution+on+the+other.+Statistical+mechanics+is+explored+to+help+in+understanding+the+relation+between+order+and+randomness+in+intelligence.+In+statistical+mechanics%2C+ordered+phenomena%2C+like+temperature+or+chemical+potential%2C+can+be+derived+from+random+processes%2C+and+empirical+data+indicate+that+such+a+relationship+between+ordered+phenomena+and+random+processes+must+exist+as+regards+intellect.+The+apparent+incongruity+in+having+both+order+and+randomness+characterize+intelligence+is+found+to+be+a+feature+that+allows+for+intelligence+to+be+known+without+recourse+to+underpinnings+that+are+independent+of+the+knowing+individual.+The+contrast+of+ordered+processes+and+random+processes+indicates+that+probabilistic+knowledge+of+the+world%2C+stemming+from+the+latter+processes%2C+is+a+basis+for+knowing+the+world+in+a+fundamental+manner%2C+whether+the+concern+is+the+physical+world+or+mind.+It+is+likely+that+physiological+concomitants+involved+in+the+development%2C+and+perhaps+current+operation%2C+of+intellect+also+demonstrate+the+same+relationship+between+ordered+and+random+phenomena+found+on+a+psychological+level.+On+a+microscopic+level%2C+it+is+expected+that+random+neurophysiological+processes+would+give+rise+to+ordered+patterns+of+neurophysiological+activity+on+a+macroscopic+level.&rft.date=1994&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F819%2F3%2FOnthe.pdf&rft.identifier=++Snyder%2C+Douglas+M.++(1994)+On+the+Nature+of+Intelligence%3A+The+Relevance+of+Statistical+Mechanics.++%5BPreprint%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F819%2F