overview

that what is mind and how does it construct a reality for us?

while there is considerable debate on how to approach this fundamental question, cognitive science seeks an answer by combining approaches from different disciplines such as psychology, computer science, neuroscience, etc.

if you accept that the mind is located in the brain, and that the brain is a device that takes some sensory inputs and produces some motor actions, then one view of the mind is that it performs certain computations on the input to decide and execute a certain output. in order to do its work, the brain also creates some internal representations for structures in the world and inside us; the structure of these representations are some of the key aspects that one attempts to study in cognitive science : the kinds of knowledge underlying human cognitive ability, and the computational processes that operate on these representations.

in this course, we shall be looking at a broad range of psychological data and performing some experiments (on ourselves as well) to try to study the operations of the mind. we shall be looking at some of the neural mechanisms that may be underlying our performance. finally, we shall be seeking to simulate some of these capabilities on computational systems to understand the internal mechanics of these systems. we shall also consider questions of how an infant learns, and particularly, issues of modeling meaning in language. finally, we shall consider some philosophical issues about what it means to represent something.

structure

this is a science elective course, so there are no special pre-requisites. however, some background in AI, linguistics, psychology, or neuroscience would be helpful.

this course will operate via intensive participation from you the students. in the first five weeks, we shall have overview sessions where different groups in the class will discuss the following topics. the material for this part of the course is based on the introductory chapters from the MIT encyclopedia of the cognitive sciences (MITECS) (topic links take you to the intro chapters).

• Cognitive Psychology (experiments revealing computational processes underlying cognition)
• Neuroscience (understanding at the micro-level; wetware)
• Linguistics (a prime window into cognition is through language)
• Computational intelligence (simulation and testing of cognitive models)

on each topic, there will be an overview lecture, and then the student presentations, and then an open discussion class. interaction in the class discussions carry partial credit.

this will begin in the second week.

subsequently, student groups will choose specific topics which they will explore in greater depth. these may relate to

• perception : experiments on your friends to see how they "sense" things
• categorization and concepts : prototype theory, objects and events
• space, time and language : spatial and temporal categories
• language : lexical structure, compositionality, and semantics
• developmental learning : you may conduct experiments on babies, or simulate their learning
• evolution of social convention: multi-agent games, speech acts, diachronic processes

project

there will be a project which may involve any of the above disciplines. i expect some people to conduct experiments on actual users, or you may work on computational simulations, or propose theoretical models. merely a survey of literature will not comprise a project.

Grading:

Readings:

Lecture Slides     Students Presentations

1. Chapter 1 : VISUAL AWARENESS author: Stephen E. Palmer From the book "Foundations of cognitive psychology: core readings" By Daniel J. Levitin
2. Chapter 6 : Experimental Design in Psychological Research author: Daniel J. Levitin from the book "Foundations of cognitive psychology: core readings" By Daniel J. Levitin
3. Chapter 7 : Perception author: Philip G. Zimbardo and Richard J. Gerrig from the book "Foundations of cognitive psychology: core readings" By Daniel J. Levitin
4. An Introduction to Cognitive Grammar author: RONALD W. LANGACKER (University of California, San Diegoo)
5. Wilson, Robert A., & Keil, Frank C. (eds.), The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS), MIT Press, 2001 [Primary text]

   An excellent text, with lots of top notch essays covering the many of the topics you may wish to explore in the latter parts of the course. Great for browsing as well...

6. Bowerman, Melissa and Stephen C. Levinson, Language Acquisition and Conceptual Development, Cambridge University Press 2001

   A pathbreaking collection of essays starting with infants in the first year (they learn abstract concepts like number of animacy); and how these eventually map into structures in language

7. Mandler, Jean, Foundations of Mind: Origins of conceptual thought , Oxford University Press, 2004 ,

   A fascinating study of cognitive processes in infancy. One of my most influential books from the last ten years.

8. Gardenfors, Peter, Conceptual Spaces: The Geometry of Thought, MIT Press, 2000, 317 pages

   Concepts may be characterized as regions in some multi-dimensional space. Do these have to be convex?

9. Margolis, E., and S. Laurence, ed., Concepts: Core Readings, MIT Press, 1999

   Starting with plato and wittgenstein, go on to prototype theory and probabilistic models. Does a concept have to be conscious?

10. Sternberg, Robert J., Cognitive Psychology, 4th ed., Cengage Learning India, 2008

And of course, there is the wide big world of articles from relevant journals and other research publications.

There will also be occasional lectures by guest faculty from other departments / groups in the institute.