Winter,
2009
Winter,
2009Description: Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence. This seminar will discuss controversial topics concerning the nature of human and computer intelligence.
Organizer: Paul Thagard
Office hours (HH368): Friday 1-2, and by appointment.
Email: pthagard@uwaterloo.ca. Phone: extension 33594.
Web page: http://cogsci.uwaterloo.ca/courses/cogsci600.2009.html
This is the core course for the Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Science.
Time: Wednesday, 1-3, in various rooms. NOTE ROOM CHANGES BELOW .
Readings: Readings for each week are available electronically: see links below.
Assignments: Each student will write a research essay of approximately 20 pages. Essay proposals should be submitted in class by February 25 . The proposal should be maximum one page, and indicate the question you hope to answer and how more than one of the disciplines of cognitive science is relevant to answering it. Students will present their work in class April 1. The final essay is due April 8. The essays can be on any topic related to the investigation of mind and intelligence, but must be interdisciplinary: they should draw on at least two of psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and anthropology. Any reference style is acceptable, but be sure to indicate your sources. In addition, 10% of the grade will be based on 1-page essays to be handed in each week concerning the week's readings. Discussion questions to guide your reading will be available 1 week before the relevant class.
Schedule:
| Week | Date | Instructor | Reading | Topic |
| 1 |
Jan. 7 |
|
What is cognitive science? | |
| 2 |
Jan. 14 |
David Spafford, Biology |
A molecular mechanics toolkit for addressing the brain's compexity |
|
| 3 |
Jan. 21 |
Randy Harris, English |
The structure of mind and the structure of discourse |
|
| 4 |
Jan. 28 |
Kate Larson, Computer Science |
Modelling strategic argumentation in multiagent systems |
|
| 5 |
Feb. 4 |
Scott Jeffrey, Management Sciences |
Inventor perseverance after being told to quit: The role of cognitive biases |
|
| 6 |
Feb. 11 |
Paul Thagard |
Explaining mental illness |
|
| 7 |
Feb. 25 |
Britt Anderson, Psychology HH 373 or 357 |
Attention as a Bayesian decision process |
|
| 8 |
Mar. 4 |
Chris Eliasmith, Philosophy and Systems Design Engineering HH 373 or 357 |
Modelling the mind |
|
| 9 |
Mar. 11 |
Chrysanne DiMarco, Computer Science DC 1304 |
Where computer science, linguistics, and biology meet: Using lexical chaining to analyze biomedical text |
|
| 10 |
Mar. 18 |
Amer Obeidi, Management Sciences HH 357 |
Common grounds in conflict - an analytical approach |
|
11 |
Mar. 25 |
Paul Thagard HH 373 |
Creativity and innovation |
|
| 12 |
Apr. 1 |
Student presentations HH 373 |
None |
Various |
Note: Students who want audit credit must complete the weekly 1-page essays.
Discussion questions for weeks 2-11.
Computational Epistemology Laboratory.
This page updated Mar. 20, 2009