Could you imagine that a computer program can infer the nutritional content of some food item from reading articles on related topics? How about an algorithm that can give medical diagnoses based on radiological images? Although these abilities sound like science fiction, they are becoming closer to reality thanks to the recent integration of computer science and cognitive science…
Tag: cognitive science
The cognitive process behind categorizing objects
Conscious or not, we are faced with countless categorization decisions during our everyday lives. When organizing kids’ rooms, parents need to decide if various items are tools or toys, to know in which drawer to place them… No matter how fast and intuitive some categorizations may feel, the process of making any classification decision involves a chain of cognitive steps…
Netflix and spill: David Landy speaks about the pros of working in industry

You come home from a long day at work, make yourself some dinner, and turn on the TV. Not to MSNBC or ESPN but, like over 100 million global users, you go directly to Netflix. You might watch a Netflix original that attracted you with its clever trailer; or maybe, you dive right in to… Read more »
Seeking canine companions: A study on human decision making

On most weekends, you can find Indiana University graduate student Sam Cohen at Bloomington Animal Care and Control, a local animal shelter where she has volunteered for two years as a pet adoption counselor. She gets to know the dogs, talks with visitors, and helps them identify which dogs they might want to adopt. But,… Read more »
The brain science of cognitive control
Ever wonder how your brain knows exactly what to do to achieve the goal of acquiring a cup of coffee, even if you’ve just stumbled out of bed? You need to take a number of steps in the correct order, including putting in the filter, adding the water, adding the coffee and turning on the… Read more »