Cogito ergo Sum!

I think therefore I am... Those are the famous words of scientist and philosopher Rene Descartes. Cognitive scientists mainly concern themselves with how the brain thinks, but it is of peculiar philosophical ramifications to pursue the field of computer thinking. Thus, I present you with the following videos.



If you're anything like me, and just can't wait to know everything about this project head on to the video below.

Article of the day!

I will try to find at least one cognitive science article a day for your enjoyment.


http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2010/november/neuron-imaging.html

Enjoy!

My mind went blank...

This is most definitely not an uncommon phrase. Many people talk about the wonders and awesomeness of the brain and its processes, but as you may well know, it also runs into a lot of problems. The way our brains are wired profoundly affects how we interact with the world, and any one who holds logic and objectivity in high esteem is going to want to know how to avoid falling victim to these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

This list shows how our way of thinking can be innately flawed, things such as the confirmation bias. Like when ever you are looking for a red car, and suddenly realized there are a lot of red cars? However, in actuality there were is probably an equal amount of every color car, but since you were specifically looking for that it stood out to you. Conversely, some of these biases aren't really a bad thing. Some of them are useful in everyday life. For instance, the endowment effect, where you expect to be paid more for something than you would be willing to pay for it, is a great bargaining mentality in which you try to maximize profit and minimize loss.

So even though the brain is an amazingly complex structure capable of doing extraordinary things, remember it is by no measure perfect, and simply by realizing that you can increase its capability!