Word.ws English Dictionary

Moravec's paradox

Moravec's paradox proper noun: the observation that, contrary to traditional assumptions, reasoning (which is high-level in humans) requires very little computation, but sensorimotor skills (comparatively low-level in humans) require enormous computational resources.

Proper noun

Moravec's paradox

  1. The observation that, contrary to traditional assumptions, reasoning (which is high-level in humans) requires very little computation, but sensorimotor skills (comparatively low-level in humans) require enormous computational resources.
    • Dr. Herculano-Houzel's research on the human brain reveals an unexpected insight that sheds light on Moravec's paradox: our ability to perceive and respond to our immediate environment actually demands a lot of brainpower.2016, Hod Lipson, Melba Kurman, Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 73

Origin of Moravec's paradox

Articulated in the 1980s by Hans Moravec, among others.

Questions about Moravec's paradox

What does Moravec's paradox mean?
Moravec's paradox means the observation that, contrary to traditional assumptions, reasoning (which is high-level in humans) requires very little computation, but sensorimotor skills (comparatively low-level in humans) require enormous computational resources.
What part of speech is Moravec's paradox?
Moravec's paradox is a proper noun.

Words near Moravec's paradox in the dictionary

  1. Morattos
  2. Moratuwa
  3. Morauia
  4. Morava
  5. Moravec
  6. Moravec's paradox
  7. Moravia
  8. Moravian
  9. Moravian Gate
  10. Moravian star
  11. Moravian stars

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Moravec's paradox (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “Moravec's paradox.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/moravec%27s_paradox. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.