Patrick Suppes facts for kids

Patrick Colonel Suppes (born March 17, 1922 – died November 17, 2014) was an American philosopher. He was a very smart thinker who helped us understand many things. He worked on ideas about how science works (called philosophy of science), how we measure things, and even the basic rules of quantum mechanics (which is about tiny particles). He also studied how people make choices (called decision theory), how our minds work (psychology), and how we can use computers to learn (educational technology).

He was a professor at Stanford University. He also directed the Education Program for Gifted Youth at Stanford until 2010.

Early Life and Education

Suppes was born on March 17, 1922, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He grew up as an only child. Later, he had a half-brother named George. His family was involved in the oil business.

Suppes started college at the University of Oklahoma in 1939. He then moved to the University of Chicago because he wanted more challenging studies. In 1942, he joined the Army Reserves. In 1943, he earned a degree in meteorology from the University of Chicago. After that, he served in the Solomon Islands during World War II.

Post-War Studies

After the war, Suppes left the Army Air Force in 1946. In 1947, he began studying philosophy at Columbia University. He earned his PhD in 1950. In 1952, he started working at Stanford University. From 1959 to 1992, he led a special institute there. This institute studied how math could be used in social sciences.

Important Work

Patrick Suppes made big contributions in several areas. He explored how computers could help kids learn. He also studied how people make decisions.

Computers and Learning

In the 1960s, Suppes worked with Richard C. Atkinson. They did experiments using computers to teach math and reading. These experiments were done with school children in the Palo Alto area.

Early Computer Teaching Systems

One special computer system they used was the IBM 1500 Instructional System. This system was first tested at Brentwood Elementary School in East Palo Alto, California. Students began using it in 1966.

Suppes also created a program called "Dial-a-Drill." This program used touchtone phones to deliver lessons. Ten schools in Manhattan used this system. Students would get three lessons each week over the phone. If a student answered two questions wrong, the system would adjust the lesson for them. This program started in March 1969.

Decision Theory Research

During the 1950s and 1960s, Suppes worked with Donald Davidson at Stanford. They studied decision theory, which is about how people make choices. They even did experiments to test their ideas. Their work led to a book called Decision Making: An Experimental Approach in 1957.

Awards and Recognitions

Patrick Suppes received many awards for his important work.

• In 1968, he was chosen for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• He became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1978. This was for his work in mathematical psychology.
• In 1990, President George H. W. Bush gave him the National Medal of Science. This is a very high honor for scientists in the U.S.
• He also won the Lakatos Award in 2003 for his ideas in the philosophy of science.
• In 2012, he received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Software and Information Industry Association.

Books and Writings

Patrick Suppes wrote many books and papers. Here are some of them:

• Suppes, Patrick (1972 [1960]). Axiomatic Set Theory. This book is about the basic rules of sets in math.
• Suppes, Patrick (1984). Probabilistic Metaphysics.
• Suppes, Patrick (1999) (1957). Introduction to Logic. This book helps explain how logic works.
• Suppes, Patrick (2002). Representation and Invariance of Scientific Structures.
• Suppes, Patrick; Hill, Shirley (2002) (1964). A First Course in Mathematical Logic. This book teaches basic math logic.
• Suppes, Patrick; Luce, R. Duncan; Krantz, David; Tversky, Amos (2007) (1972). Foundations of Measurement, Vols. 1–3. These books are about how we measure things in science.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers