Current Content
On the shoulders of giants: David Marr
27 Nov, 2023Despite his brief life, Marr made profound contributions to these fields, particularly with his theories on vision and brain information processing. His "Levels of Analysis" framework and vision theory have been influential. Marr's work was cut short by leukemia at 35, but his legacy endures through his impactful theories and the posthumously published book "Vision."
Yunus Şahin
Visual language? What even is that? Visual Language Theory and motion in comics
03 Oct, 2023Visual Language Theory posits that sequential images in comics, like spoken and sign languages, follow specific combinatorial rules to convey meaning. The author's research focuses on depicting motion and time in static images, using techniques like postures and motion lines. The study highlights cultural differences in visual narratives and suggests that spoken languages influence visual representation in comics. This challenges the traditional view of language as primarily speech-oriented, emphasizing its multimodal nature.
Irmak Hacımusaoğlu
How language evolved to fit the human brain
03 Oct, 2023Language learning doesn't rely on brain evolution specific to language, but on 'chunking,' a cognitive process grouping small information units into larger segments. This aids memory and comprehension, influencing language evolution. Easily remembered words and phrases are favored, showing language evolves to suit our cognitive capacities, shaping it across generations.
Erin S. İşbilen
Gestalt research on problem-solving and today’s Gestalt
22 Sep, 2023This article explores Gestalt Theory's approach to problem-solving, focusing on Köhler’s studies on tool use in chimpanzees and Duncker’s “think aloud” problem-solving research. Both works exemplify productive thinking as a form of restructuring behavior. The article links Gestalt Theory to modern research, highlighting its comprehensive explanatory power in understanding perception, memory, and thinking, particularly through concepts like figure-ground separation and grouping. Gestalt Theory's broad applicability in cognitive psychology is emphasized, advocating for its continued relevance and study.
Esra Mungan
Still ahead of their time: Gestalt theory's intriguing ideas and research in memory
21 Sep, 2023This article highlights the overlooked contributions of Gestalt theory to memory research, challenging the notion that it focuses only on perception. It reviews Kurt Koffka's theories on memory's role in perceiving Gestalts, the dynamics of memory traces, and their changes during storage. The piece also examines Hedwig von Restorff’s study on figure-ground effects in memory and concludes with Erich Goldmeier’s innovative yet underappreciated work in the field, underscoring Gestalt theory's significant yet unrecognized impact on understanding memory.
Esra Mungan
Gestalt theory: its past, stranding and future...
21 Sep, 2023This article revisits the foundational contributions of Gestalt theory, emphasizing its enduring relevance and the need to correct its misrepresentation in the past 50 years. It aims to connect the disparate scientific facts within psychology, utilizing Gestalt theory's potential. The first part details Max Wertheimer's 1912 "phi phenomenon" and the launch of the Gestalt journal Psychologische Forschungen in 1922. It also covers the Gestalt founders' emigration to the US due to the Nazi regime and their adaptation to differing psychological perspectives there. This article, the first in a series of three, lays the groundwork for further exploration of Gestalt theory's applications in memory and productive thinking in subsequent articles.
Esra Mungan
AI is changing scientists understanding of language learning and raising questions about an innate grammar
17 Sep, 2023The traditional view in linguistics, advocating for an innate grammar template for language learning, is challenged by AI advancements. Everyday language, despite its messy nature, is effectively learned by AI models like GPT-3, which lack a built-in grammar system. These models, trained on vast text datasets, generate grammatically correct language, paralleling human brain processes in predicting language. Research suggests that similar to AI, children might learn language from exposure and experience rather than an inherent grammar structure. This shift in understanding emphasizes practical language use over grammatical rules in language acquisition.
Morten Christiansen, Pablo Contreras Kallens
Fishing for ideas through the peripatoi of hand gestures
17 Sep, 2023David Lynch describes creativity as fishing for ideas, a notion that aligns with the concept of the "embodied mind" where physical gestures significantly influence creative thinking. Research shows gestures enhance storytelling and brainstorming, with their effectiveness varying based on an individual's mental imagery skills. The role of gestures in creativity is complex, aiding some while hindering others, and varies in different linguistic contexts. Gestures are thus central to the creative process, affecting idea formation and expression.
Gyulten Hyusein
AI lacks judgment
16 Aug, 2023Artificial Intelligence (AI) excel in processing data but lacks human judgment. It's strong in theoretical knowledge (episteme) but struggles with practical skills (techne) and wise decision-making (phronesis). AI's reliance on training data can lead to biases, as seen in its use in courts and image processing. The lack of clear explanations in AI's decisions, especially in ethical scenarios like self-driving cars, highlights its limitations. Advancing AI requires integrating technical skills with insights from humanities and social sciences, aiming to incorporate judgment and ethical decision-making into AI systems.
Peter Gärdenfors
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THE COGNIZER
Extending Cognition
The Cognizer is a publishing platform initiated by CogIST, a cognitive science community from Turkey. On this platform, articles and essays on different topics from different fields of cognitive science are published in a way that would bridge the gap between public audience and experts.
