Exam 2

human minds differ wildly from digital computers (e.g., serial vs parallel processing; digital vs distributed representations)

• brain as a hydraulic system • a telephone switching system

• not a metaphor -> computation is a general phenomenon • digital computers and human brains are both kinds of pss but are different kinds

• symbol manipulation seems to leave out important parts of how our mind work (computers don’t have feelings/friends/culture - these things influence how humans think) • older views really did neglect these things

• manipulating systems –> not a good definitions because it makes PSS true by definition (circular argument) • nothing about this definition requires cognition to occur within our skulls (“where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin?”)

“processes that allow us to know and adapt to our environments, executing goal-directed behaviour”

• cognition encompasses not only internal symbol manipulation, but also symbol manipulation via external aides such as technologies and other people • the tool–brain hybrid is what’s doing the cognition, since both are storing or processing information

• using a notebook as a memory aide (tool) • completing a group project (other people) • flynig an aeroplane (instruments, co-pilots)

act of using physical actions or external tools to reduce mental effort required for a task

• lists of words were read to the participants + they were instructed to type them into a memory aide (a text document) • in some trials, an extra word was surreptitiously added to the participant’s word list at either the first position or a middle position • participants then “recalled” the list while using their aide, and rated their confidence in each word • people falsely remember hearing the inserted word if inserted in the middle but only sometimes at the beginning

• cognition also encompasses the ways we exploit information in the environment • the info processing seems to be happening through the interaction between the person’s mind and the environment

• rotating tetris pieces on the screen instead of mentally • moving around scrabble tiles instead of imagining different possible words navigating using street signs and landmarks

• cognition also occurs in the body outside the brain • in these cases, the body seems to facilitate memory or problem-solving

• being in the same body position as in an autobiographic memory facilitates retrieval of that memory • gesturying reduces cognitive load while giving verbal explanations • when we understand an action word, the relevant part of the motor cortex is activated

• cognition arises through dynamic interactions with the world • the information processing involves both perceiving the environment and acting on it iteratively

• using hand movements to learn about objects learning locations of objects better when actively versus passively exploring an environment • learning to play an instrument via feedback between motor movements and the instrument’s sound

• isn’t this just a line-drawing exercise? • information representation and symbol manipulation are still occurring; we are just offloading some of the memory demands to the environment

• isn’t this just bodily states acting as retrieval cues? • information from our bodies reminds us of something, just like perceptual information about the external world can

• isn’t this just learning from feedback? • when we can select the best “experiments,” we’ll get more useful feedback

• idea that the LoT is a natural language like english or mandarin • concepts that aren’t expressible in a speaker’s language are unthinkable • words and syntactic structures of that language profoundly impact reasoning even when one is not speaking • if two cultures speak languages that permit the expression of different concepts, certain ideas can never be communicated between them

weaker claim that cognition differs depending on the language one speaks

determinism entails relativity, but not necessarily the other way around

• “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” –Wittgenstein • “We have to cease to think if we refuse to do it in the prisonhouse of language.” –Nietzsche • “Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.” –Heidegger • “We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages… We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement… codified in the patterns of our language. The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory.” –Whorf

• reasoning, not interpretation: differences involve genuine perception or reasoning – unable to solve a problem or perceive a stimulus – rather than just breaking a tie in a close-call case where reasonable people could draw different conclusions • determinism, not habit: speakers of different languages find it natural versus very difficult to think in a particular way • causation: these differences must be caused by language, not the other way around