![[A picture of a human face made up of mechanical parts, like gears.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2023/02/image-2.jpg)
In my last post, I explained the defining characteristics of cognitive models and the main steps to developing a cognitive model. In this post, I’ll discuss the advantages of cognitive modeling over alternative approaches to studying human cognition and behavior, and a precaution to be taken about interpreting modeling results…
Tag: Mathematics
Using mathematics to study psychology. Part 1
If you’ve ever thought about the life of a graduate student in psychology, you might have pictured someone who is asking research participants probing questions about their hidden thoughts, or perhaps someone who is discreetly observing human subjects completing some tasks while taking quick note of their behavior. In reality, we psychology students spend most of our time learning advanced statistical methods and grappling with quantitative analyses of noisy behavioral data that are difficult to interpret….
Roots of the Langlands Program
The Langlands Program has been progressing for a long time, with many of the big names in mathematics involved. Dr. Matthias Strauch, an Associate Professor in the Indiana University Mathematics Department, and I discussed some of the history of the field. The story begins with linear equations, although the modern scope of research has flown… Read more »
Biological Venn diagrams: Where do math and biology intersect?
Think back to some of the core materials you learned from a biology course, either in college or high school. What do you remember? Maybe you remember something about human anatomy, or the carbon cycle, the structure of cells, or how DNA is replicated? But do you ever immediately think about how math and biology… Read more »
Math on a clock: Exploration in mathematics
I want to give you a sense of what it’s like doing math “in the wild”. Doing mathematics is not just about learning what other people have already done: it’s about exploring and playing around with a system to figure out what’s going on. Let’s give it a go! We are all familiar with the… Read more »