Hoffman, Donald D. 1955–

views updated

Hoffman, Donald D. 1955–

(Donald David Hoffman)

PERSONAL: Born December 29, 1955, in San Antonio, TX; son of David Pollock and Loretta Virginia Hoffman; married Geralyn M. Souza, 1986; children: (previous marriage) Melissa Louise. Ethnicity: "White." Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1978; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1983. Hobbies and other interests: Running, swimming, racket sports, ice skating.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697. E-mail—ddhoff@uci.edu.

CAREER: Hughes Aircraft Co., member of technical staff and project engineer, 1978–83; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, resident scientist at artificial intelligence laboratory, 1983; University of California, Irvine, assistant professor, 1983–86, associate professor, 1986–90, professor of cognitive science and of information and computer science, 1990–, professor of philosophy, 1996–. University of Bielefeld, visiting professor, 1995–96.

MEMBER: American Psychological Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Science Foundation grants, 1984, 1987; Distinguished Scientific Award, American Psychological Association, 1989; Troland research award, National Academy of Science, 1994.

WRITINGS:

(With Bruce M. Bennett and Chetan Prakash) Observer Mechanics: A Formal Theory of Perception, Academic Press (San Diego, CA), 1989.

Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 1998.

Also author of magazine articles.

SIDELIGHTS: Donald D. Hoffman combines computer technology with his study of psychology to explore the ways humans process information, particularly visual information. His interest in the process of perception led him to write Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. Filled with helpful photographs and illustrations, the book describes how humans construct their reality through what they see. Hoffman explains that vision is more than just "seeing"—it is organizing information, analyzing it, and adding additional information to create a world that makes sense. Optical illusions are explained, as is the process of perceiving color, depth, and motion. Hoffman also lists thirty-five rules that determine how humans put together a coherent image. He makes use of several disparate resources, from philosophy and cognitive theory to references to pop culture.

Many reviewers found the book an engaging, if imperfect, exploration of the human mind. Ellen Ruppel Shell in the New York Times Book Review wrote that readers who overlook the imperfections "can glean much from his insights." Kelly Hensley in Library Journal wrote that "the book will convince everyone that the human brain is an amazing thing." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called Visual Intelligence "an outstanding example of creative popular science … the rare book that, in line with its subject, can be thoroughly enjoyed both right side up and upside down."