From Bricks to Brains
The Embodied Cognitive Science of Lego Robots
- Publisher
- Athabasca University Press
- Initial publish date
- May 2010
- Subjects
- Cognitive Psychology
- Categories
- Author lives in Alberta
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781897425794
- Publish Date
- May 2010
- List Price
- $44.99
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Description
From Bricks to Brains introduces embodied cognitive science, and illustrates its foundational ideas through the construction and observation of LEGO Mindstorms robots. Discussing the characteristics that distinguish embodied cognitive science from classical cognitive science, From Bricks to Brains places a renewed emphasis on sensing and acting, the importance of embodiment, the exploration of distributed notions of control, and the development of theories by synthesizing simple systems and exploring their behaviour. Numerous examples are used to illustrate a key theme: the importance of an agent’s environment. Even simple agents, such as LEGO robots, are capable of exhibiting complex behaviour when they can sense and affect the world around them.
About the authors
Michael Dawson is Professor of History at St where he teaches courses on Canadian History, the global history of sport and tourism, and the comparative history of national identity and popular culture in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.In 2014 he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
Brian Dupuis is a research assistant in psychology at the University of Alberta.
Michael Wilson was a Canadian businessman, politician, diplomat, and mental health advocate. As an investment banker, he held senior roles at Royal Bank of Canada, UBS Canada, and Barclays Capital Canada. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1993, serving as Minister of Finance and Minister of International Trade under Brian Mulroney. He also served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States and Chancellor of the University of Toronto, where he established the Cameron Parker Holcombe Wilson Chair in Depression Studies. He was a member and chair of numerous boards, including Board Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and a Companion of the Order of Canada.