1. Human Cognition
Cognition: all the mental actions performed by an organism
Includes the way we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions, and form judgments
Examples of Cognition
If I say the phrase “gold digger,” what attributes come to mind? (creating concepts)
How would you deal with a friend who borrowed $100 and refuses to pay you back? (solving problems)
Would you work a potentially hazardous job if it paid $100k per year? (making decisions)
What was the first thing you thought when you saw your teacher on the first day of class? (forming judgments)

2. All of these likely fit in your concept for “ball”.
Human Cognition
Concept: a mental categorization of similar entities
Enables us to categorize the world into neatly understand ideas
Similar to the “schemas” from the development unit
Vehicles?
These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “cat”.
All of these likely fit in your concept for “ball”.

3. Human Cognition Prototype: ideal example of a concept
Basically, what one image best represents each concept in your mind?
What comes to mind when you think of “bird”?
What’s your prototype for “professional athlete”?
Teacher prototype?
I usually put a picture of one of the school’s teachers in the bottom right as a joke for the kids. Maybe put yourself if you’re comfortable with it.
I think of LeBron James, but maybe you think of Aaron Rodgers.
Robins are probably better examples than penguins even though both are technically birds.

4. Computers use algorithms to work
Human Cognition
Imagine you need to buy spaghetti for dinner. How would you locate it in the grocery store? You could use the following problem solving techniques:
Heuristic: a best guess method that often allows us to make decisions and solve problems (speedier but error- prone)
You could take a guess based on the signs in each aisle, but you may guess wrong.
Algorithm: a systematic, step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
You could literally go down every aisle in the store and eventually you will find it, but it may take a long time.
Would you use an algorithm or a heuristic to unscramble the following word?: S P L O Y O C H Y G
Computers use algorithms to work
(if you used an algorithm, there are 907,200 possible letter combinations)

5. Human Cognition
Insight: an abrupt and original realization of the answer to a problem
Often known as the “aha! moment” or the “light bulb going off in your head”
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line: “OK, now what?”
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up.
Holmes: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce.”
Watson: “I see millions of stars and even if a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there, there might also be life. What does it tell you, Holmes?”
Holmes: “Watson, you idiot, somebody has stolen our tent!”
Think of another word that could form a compound word or phrase with each of the following words:
PINE
CRAB
SAUCE
APPLE

6. Computer Cognition
Artificial Intelligence: the science of creating computers to perform processes that imitate human cognition
What are computers worse at than humans?
Computers cannot fear, desire, have beliefs or other subjective mental states – YET
Computers do everything one at a time (serially) whereas human brains do many things at once
What can computers do better than humans?
Manipulate huge amounts of data
Retrieving detailed information from memory
Make decisions using specified rules (algorithms)
Example: Password hacking programs

7. Computer Cognition Has computer cognition surpassed human cognition?
No real way to qualify it, but in 1996 and 1997 the world’s greatest chess player, Russian Garry Kasparov, played the world’s smartest computer, codenamed “Deep Blue” in a series of chess matches
Results – who do you think won?
Kasparov won the first match in 1996, 4 games to 2 games
Deep Blue won the rematch in 1997, 3.5 games to 2.5 games

8. Computer Cognition Artificial Intelligence Accomplishments
Search engines and the internet have combined to create virtual libraries with unlimited knowledge at your fingertips
Watson, a computer contestant on Jeopardy, dominated Ken Jennings, the longest- reigned human trivia contestant
Self-driving cars that can obey traffic signs and adjust to different traffic conditions already exist
Computer programming has now essentially replicated human imagination via video games and movie special effects

9. Animal Cognition Do animals think? YES.
Chimps (as well as some other animals) will eventually recognize themselves in front of a mirror and prove it by performing grooming techniques while watching their reflection.
Chimps display insight when they learn to use new tools they find in the wild and will even craft their own.
Cats and dogs can be trained to perform behaviors via operant (rewards) or classical (association) conditioning.
YES.

10. Animal Cognition Can animals become culturally diverse? YES.
During Jane Goodall’s research, she found one group of chimps would slurp ants directly from the stick while another group would pluck each ant off individually.
Some chimps used stone hammers while others used wood hammers.
YES.

11. Animal Cognition Do animals exhibit language? YES.
Monkeys have different alarm cries for predators
“Barks” for leopards
“Coughs” for eagles
“Chuttering” for snakes
Honeybees perform dances that inform other bees of the distance and direction of nearby food
Apes can learn limited sign language, although experts disagree on the validity of these findings
The vocabulary they gain takes great difficulty to learn and is very limited
They lack any form of syntax (order of words) in their phrases
The equivalent mental age of a human for the world’s smartest animals is 2 years old.
YES.

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