Dr. Seymour Papert is a mathemetician and one of the early pioneers of Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, he is internationally recognized as the seminal thinker about ways in which computers can change learning. Born and educated in South Africa where he participated actively in the anti-apartheid movement, Dr. Papert pursued mathematical research at Cambridge University from 1954-1958. He then worked with Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva from 1958-1963. It was this collaboration that led him to consider using mathematics in the service of understanding how children can learn and think.
In the early 1960's, Papert came to MIT where, with Marvin Minsky, he founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and co-authored their seminal work,
- Perceptrons (1970)
- Mindstorms:Children Computers and Powerful Ideas (1980)
- The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer (1992)
Seymour's latest book is The Connected Family: bridging the digital generation gap (1996). This site provides continuously updated advice, including recommended Web sites.
Another site that Professor Papert and friends helped create for children (and their parents) is MaMaMedia
So, you ask, what else?:
- View the page linking Professor Papert's testimony on education before the United States Congress Re-Thinking School
- Go to the Media Laboratory home page
Last updated 10/96