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** Wide practical applications
*** How babies and children learn - education, language teaching
*** How people make decisions - marketing, business
*** How the brain works - psychiatry, medicine, AI
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** Education, language teaching
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** Philosophers -Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, etc.
to:
** Philosophers - Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, etc.
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* Famous names: Penfield, Hubel and Wiesel, Sperry, Melzack and Wall
to:
* Famous names: [[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/brain/cortexhistory2.html|Penfield]], [[http://www.nyas.org/publications/readersReport.asp?articleID=28|Hubel and Wiesel]], [[http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/split-brain/background.html|Sperry]], [[http://www.library.ucla.edu/biomed/his/painexhibit/panel6.htm|Melzack and Wall]]
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* Theories must be testable - use experiments to check the predictions made by a theory.
* If the predictions are confirmed, we are more confident of the theory.
* If the predictions are wrong, we reject the theory, modify it, or check our experiments again.
* Some examples of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation.
to:
** Theories must be testable - use experiments to check the predictions made by a theory.
** If the predictions are confirmed, we are more confident of the theory.
** If the predictions are wrong, we reject the theory, modify it, or check our experiments again.
** Some examples of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation.
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** Theories must be testable
*** We need to do experiments to check the predictions made by a theory.
*** If the predictions are confirmed, we are more confident of the theory.
*** If the predictions are wrong, we reject the theory, modify it, or check our experiments again.
*** Some examples of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation.
to:
* Theories must be testable - use experiments to check the predictions made by a theory.
* If the predictions are confirmed, we are more confident of the theory.
* If the predictions are wrong, we reject the theory, modify it, or check our experiments again.
* Some examples of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation.
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** Theories must be testable: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, etc.
** Theories should be supported by strong evidence: pick the theory that provides the most accurate predictions and the best explanation.
to:
** Theories must be testable
*** We need to do experiments to check the predictions made by a theory.
*** If the predictions are confirmed, we are more confident of the theory.
*** If the predictions are wrong, we reject the theory, modify it, or check our experiments again.
*** Some examples of experiments: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation.
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!Cognitive science is a young science with a long history
to:
!Cognitive science is a young science ...
But the study of the mind has a long history.
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!!Young science: the computational approach to the mind started in the 1960s
to:
!!Young science
The computational approach is central to cognitive science. This started in the 1960s.
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* Famous names: John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon
to:
* Famous names: John [=McCarthy=], Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon
* The analogy of the mind as a computer turns out to be very fruitful.
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* Localization of brain function, neural correlates, imaging of mental/brain processes
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Rejection of behaviorism in psychology
* Pavlov, Skinner, Thorndike, Watson, etc.
to:
!A brief history of cognitive science
!!Rejection of behaviorism in psychology
* Famous behaviorists: Pavlov, Skinner, Thorndike, Watson, etc.
* What is behaviorism?
** Scientific psychology should focus only on observable behavior.
** Behavior to be explained in terms of conditioning.
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*What is behaviorism?
**Scientific psychology should focus only on observable behavior.
**Behavior to be explained in terms of conditioning.
Response: Psychological explanations must take into account internal mental states that are not directly observable.
***George Miller (1956) “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”
***Chomsky (1957) ''Syntactic Structures''
***Chomsky (1959) “A Review of B. F. Skinner's ''Verbal Behavior''”
to:
* Response: Psychological explanations must take into account internal mental states that are not directly observable.
** George Miller (1956) “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”
** Chomsky (1957) ''Syntactic Structures''
** Chomsky (1959) “A Review of B. F. Skinner's ''Verbal Behavior''”
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*Mathematical definition of computation (Turing, Church, …)
*Electronic computers - The beginning of AI
*John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon
to:
* Mathematical definition of computation (Turing, Church, …)
* Electronic computers - The beginning of AI
* Famous names: John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon
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*Brain functions and information processing in neurons
*Penfield, Hubel and Wiesel, Sperry, Melzack and Wall
!Themes in explanation
!!1. Cogsci is materialist
* Mental phenomena are explained in terms of physical processes in the brain. Most cognitive scientists are PHYSICALISTS (or MATERIALISTS) - everything in the world is made up of physical substance.
* PHYSICALISTS would deny SUBSTANCE DUALISM - the view that the mind is a soul, some kind of non-extended and non-physical object. Substance dualism is of course a part of most religious doctrines.
* We have no a priori reason to think that substance dualism must be wrong. Only experiments can help us decide which approach is better. What is true is that the physicalist approach has been more successful in improving our understanding of the mind.
!!2. Cogsci is interdisciplinary
The mind is extremely complicated
* Around 100 billion inter-connected neurons
Vertical and horizontal division of labour is needed to understand the mind.
* Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas.
* Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at [[Main.Levels of Description|various levels]] - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
Some of the disciplines of cogsci:
* Psychology - cognitive psychology, developmental psychology
* Linguistics - syntax, semantics, phonology
* Neuroscience - brain structures, localization
* Computer science - AI, computer models
* Philosophy - theoretical foundations
!!3. The mind is modular
* The brain is a complex system with different functional parts, e.g. visual areas, language, reasoning, ...
* Cognitive science is more like reverse engineering - understanding a complex system by identifying the functions of different parts and see how they interact.
* SPECIALIZATION not incompatible with PLASTICITY.
!!4. Mental processes are explained in terms of parallel computations in the brain
Information processing in the mind
* Perception - acquiring real-time information about the surrounding environment.
* Language use - making use of information about syntax, semantics and phonology.
* Reasoning - combining different sources of information, deriving new information, testing consistency of information, etc.
* Action - making use of information in action planning and guidance.
* Memory - storing and retrieving information
The distinctive feature of a lot of mental processes is that they involve complex information processing. But complex information processing is best explained by computations and representations. So we have reasons to believe that mental processes should be explained by computations in the brain. There are mental representations that encode information, and there are mental processes that operate on such representations.
!!5. Most mental processes are unconscious
We are not consciously aware of much of our mental processes.
* We have lots of different beliefs at any given time, but we are not aware of all of them at the same time.
* We are not aware of how we retrieve information from memory, how we recognize faces, ...
to:
* Brain functions and information processing in neurons
* Famous names: Penfield, Hubel and Wiesel, Sperry, Melzack and Wall
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!Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
to:
!Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior
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!Cognitive science is very useful and important.
to:
!Cognitive science is very useful and important
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!What is cognitive science?
!!Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
to:
* [Required] A brief intro from Berkeley's cognitive science programme at http://ls.berkeley.edu/ugis/cogsci/major/about.php
* Howard Gardner (1985). ''[[http://library.hku.hk/search/g153+G22/g153+g22/-2%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&FF=g153+g22&1%2C1%2C|The Mind's New Science: A History of the Cognitive Revolution]]''
!Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
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!!Cognitive science is very useful and important.
to:
!Cognitive science is very useful and important.
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!!Cognitive science is a young science with a long history
to:
!Cognitive science is a young science with a long history
!!Long history: the mind has always been an area of investigation
* Philosophers and scientists were interested in understanding the mind long before cognitive science.
** Philosophers -Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, etc.
** Hippocrates (400BC) - Founder of Western medicine
@@@Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, grievances, and tears. Through it...we...think, see, hear, and distinguish the ugly from the beautiful, the bad from the good, the pleasant from the unpleasant.@@@
* The beginning of modern psychology
** Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) - First psychology laboratory
** William James (1842-1910) - ''The Principles of Psychology''
!!Young science: the computational approach to the mind started in the 1960s
Cognitive science came about in the 1960s. Very briefly, it was the result of three main developments:
* The reaction against behaviorism in psychology, linguistics and philosophy;
* The emergence of AI and computational theory in computer science; and
* New discoveries about brain functions in neurophysiology.
Rejection of behaviorism in psychology
* Pavlov, Skinner, Thorndike, Watson, etc.
-->http://www.hku.hk/cogsci/media/philo/emergence.jpg
*What is behaviorism?
**Scientific psychology should focus only on observable behavior.
**Behavior to be explained in terms of conditioning.
*Response: Psychological explanations must take into account internal mental states that are not directly observable.
***George Miller (1956) “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”
***Chomsky (1957) ''Syntactic Structures''
***Chomsky (1959) “A Review of B. F. Skinner's ''Verbal Behavior''”
!!The start of modern computing and AI
*Mathematical definition of computation (Turing, Church, …)
*Electronic computers - The beginning of AI
*John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon
!!Developments in neurophysiology
*Brain functions and information processing in neurons
*Penfield, Hubel and Wiesel, Sperry, Melzack and Wall
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!!What is cognitive science?
* Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
to:
!What is cognitive science?
!!Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
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!!Cognitive science is very useful and important.
# The mind is the final frontier of science.
# Whether the mind can be scientifically explained has great metaphysical and religious significance.
# Cognitive science has lots and lots of applications
*** Education
*** AI and robotics
*** Mental health, addiction, psychiatry
*** Marketing
*** Management
!!Cognitive science is a young science with a long history
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! S5 is great
# S5 = A '''S'''imple '''S'''tandards-Based '''S'''lide '''S'''how '''S'''ystem %list class=incremental%
# S5 is a slide show format based entirely on XHTML, CSS, and Javascript. %list class=incremental%
** sub-item 1 %list class=incremental%
** sub-item 2
# item 2
# item 3
# media:bw-brain.jpg
!S5 and pmwiki is even better!
* Point 1
* Point 2
* Point 3
media:bw-brain.jpg
http://www3.hku.hk/philodep/joelau/
!Page 3
@@@quote@@@
* Point 1
* Point 2
* Point 3
!Page 4
# Point 1
# Point 2
# Point 3 - sadjksdha sdakjsdahkjsdak sdajksdaksda sdajksdaksda sdaksdaksdak sdaksdahksda hdasksdaksdahk sdajhksdahksda sdajkhsdak jsda sdajhsda khsda hksdahdsa
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!Overall Title
[[COGN10012007aIntro1?action=slideshow | Start slideshow here]]
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!What is cognitive science?
*Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
!Feature #1: Cognitive science studies mind and behavior.
[[mental states]] (beliefs, emotions), processes (reasoning, speech), phenomena (consciousness), and behavior (motion, facial expressions, speech).
* Both normal and abnormal (prosopagnosia, autism) cases, human and animal minds are studied.
!!Feature #2: Cognitive science is a science.
Empirical testability: Theories and hypotheses in cogsci are not armchair speculations. They should be [[thinkweb:sci/hd.php|supported by strong evidence]]. [Questions to ask: Can theory X explain data Y? Are the predictions of theory X correct? Are there other theories that provide better explanations and predictions than theory X?]
* Varieties of experimental approaches: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, ...
to:
!!What is cognitive science?
* Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
# Cognitive science is a very ''wide'' subject.
** All sorts of internal mental phenomena: Thinking, emotions, reasoning, language, feelings, etc.
** All sorts of behavior: bodily movements, facial expressions, speech, etc.
** Both normal and abnormal cases: prosopagnosia, autism, Cotard syndrome, Anton syndrome, alien hand, etc.
# Cognitive science is a ''science''.
** Theories must be testable: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, etc.
** Theories should be supported by strong evidence: pick the theory that provides the most accurate predictions and the best explanation.
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!Readings
* [Required] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
* Thagard, Paul (1996). ''[[http://library.hku.hk/search/t?SEARCH=Mind%20%3A%20Introduction%20to%20Cognitive%20Science|Mind : Introduction to Cognitive Science]]'' Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. [accessible from netlibrary.com]
!What is cognitive science?
*Definition: Cognitive science is the science of mind and behavior.
!Feature #1: Cognitive science studies mind and behavior.
* All sorts of [[mental states]] (beliefs, emotions), processes (reasoning, speech), phenomena (consciousness), and behavior (motion, facial expressions, speech).
* Both normal and abnormal (prosopagnosia, autism) cases, human and animal minds are studied.
!!Feature #2: Cognitive science is a science.
* Empirical testability: Theories and hypotheses in cogsci are not armchair speculations. They should be [[thinkweb:sci/hd.php|supported by strong evidence]]. [Questions to ask: Can theory X explain data Y? Are the predictions of theory X correct? Are there other theories that provide better explanations and predictions than theory X?]
* Varieties of experimental approaches: brain scans, psychophysics experiments, studies of cognitive deficits, reaction time, computer simulation, ...
!Themes in explanation
!!1. Cogsci is materialist
* Mental phenomena are explained in terms of physical processes in the brain. Most cognitive scientists are PHYSICALISTS (or MATERIALISTS) - everything in the world is made up of physical substance.
* PHYSICALISTS would deny SUBSTANCE DUALISM - the view that the mind is a soul, some kind of non-extended and non-physical object. Substance dualism is of course a part of most religious doctrines.
* We have no a priori reason to think that substance dualism must be wrong. Only experiments can help us decide which approach is better. What is true is that the physicalist approach has been more successful in improving our understanding of the mind.
!!2. Cogsci is interdisciplinary
The mind is extremely complicated
* Around 100 billion inter-connected neurons
Vertical and horizontal division of labour is needed to understand the mind.
* Horizontal division of labour: Mental phenomena involves language, perception, reasoning, emotions, etc. Different scientists focus on different areas.
* Vertical division of labour: Each mental phenomena can be investigated at [[Main.Levels of Description|various levels]] - the task level, the level of algorithm, and the level of neural mechanism.
Some of the disciplines of cogsci:
* Psychology - cognitive psychology, developmental psychology
* Linguistics - syntax, semantics, phonology
* Neuroscience - brain structures, localization
* Computer science - AI, computer models
* Philosophy - theoretical foundations
!!3. The mind is modular
* The brain is a complex system with different functional parts, e.g. visual areas, language, reasoning, ...
* Cognitive science is more like reverse engineering - understanding a complex system by identifying the functions of different parts and see how they interact.
* SPECIALIZATION not incompatible with PLASTICITY.
!!4. Mental processes are explained in terms of parallel computations in the brain
Information processing in the mind
* Perception - acquiring real-time information about the surrounding environment.
* Language use - making use of information about syntax, semantics and phonology.
* Reasoning - combining different sources of information, deriving new information, testing consistency of information, etc.
* Action - making use of information in action planning and guidance.
* Memory - storing and retrieving information
The distinctive feature of a lot of mental processes is that they involve complex information processing. But complex information processing is best explained by computations and representations. So we have reasons to believe that mental processes should be explained by computations in the brain. There are mental representations that encode information, and there are mental processes that operate on such representations.
!!5. Most mental processes are unconscious
We are not consciously aware of much of our mental processes.
* We have lots of different beliefs at any given time, but we are not aware of all of them at the same time.
* We are not aware of how we retrieve information from memory, how we recognize faces, ...