Introduction to Computational Cognitive Science

3 Credits.

How does the mind work? Cognitive science addresses this question from a multidiscliplinary perspective, drawing upon methods and ideas from psychology, neurophysiology, neuroscience, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. Within this framework, computational cognitive science has two related goals. The first is to create computational models of human cognition, computer programs that simulate certain aspects of the mind. The second is to understand how to produce intelligent behavior in machines, taking cues from humans. The computational frameworks we will discuss include symbolic structured representations, probabilistic inference and artificial neural networks, as applied to concept learning, language and vision. While this class does not have formal prerequisites, some programming experience (e.g., AS 250.205 Introduction to Computing or equivalent) and mathematical preparation (e.g., AS.110.107 Calculus II or equivalent) are essential.