Cognitive Science

Test 2 / 2004

Modified: 2004-03-01

Instructions: Due before 2:10 p.m., Thursday, March 11.

Use the CS main page, pages you find on your own, and e-mail sent to you as the source for your answers. You may submit your answers as hard copy or as e-mail (either as straight e-mail or as a Word attachment). Choose the method with which you are more comfortable.

Answers should be legible (i.e., not hand written), complete, thoughtful, and articulate. You may consult with me via e-mail as you develop your answers (probably a good strategy). Shoot for at least one page per question and do not simply copy and paste answers. Use quotes to indicate sources you found elsewhere and provide URLs or references where appropriate. Failure to properly cite sources may lead to a grade of zero for that item!

1. Is the brain a computer? Why or why not?

2. Why is vision so critical to cognitive science? Show how visual displays have evolved over the years and then predict what visual displays will look like in the future. Here is a site you might use:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor.htm

3. Describe the structure of spoken language. Be sure to include: phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. How does linguistics relate to language?

4. Design a computer for use by the blind. How will you use other physiological systems (other than vision, that is) to provide a satisfactory user experience?

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