The Tractable Cognition Thesis Export

@article{Roo08, abstract = {The recognition that human minds/brains are finite systems with limited resources for computation has led some researchers to advance the <i>Tractable Cognition thesis</i>: Human cognitive capacities are constrained by computational tractability. This thesis, if true, serves cognitive psychology by constraining the space of computational-level theories of cognition. To utilize this constraint, a precise and workable definition of “computational tractability” is needed. Following computer science tradition, many cognitive scientists and psychologists define computational tractability as polynomial-time computability, leading to the <i>P-Cognition thesis</i>. This article explains how and why the P-Cognition thesis may be overly restrictive, risking the exclusion of veridical computational-level theories from scientific investigation. An argument is made to replace the P-Cognition thesis by the <i>FPT-Cognition thesis</i> as an alternative formalization of the Tractable Cognition thesis (here, FPT stands for fixed-parameter tractable). Possible objections to the Tractable Cognition thesis, and its proposed formalization, are discussed, and existing misconceptions are clarified.}, author = {van Rooij, Iris}, citeulike-article-id = {3315701}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03640210801897856}, doi = {10.1080/03640210801897856}, journal = {Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal}, keywords = {cognitive, complexity, in, parametrized, science, theory}, number = {6}, pages = {939--984}, posted-at = {2008-09-22 14:52:10}, priority = {0}, publisher = {Psychology Press}, title = {The Tractable Cognition Thesis}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03640210801897856}, volume = {32}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - Roo08 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3315701 N2 - The recognition that human minds/brains are finite systems with limited resources for computation has led some researchers to advance the <i>Tractable Cognition thesis</i>: Human cognitive capacities are constrained by computational tractability. This thesis, if true, serves cognitive psychology by constraining the space of computational-level theories of cognition. To utilize this constraint, a precise and workable definition of “computational tractability” is needed. Following computer science tradition, many cognitive scientists and psychologists define computational tractability as polynomial-time computability, leading to the <i>P-Cognition thesis</i>. This article explains how and why the P-Cognition thesis may be overly restrictive, risking the exclusion of veridical computational-level theories from scientific investigation. An argument is made to replace the P-Cognition thesis by the <i>FPT-Cognition thesis</i> as an alternative formalization of the Tractable Cognition thesis (here, FPT stands for fixed-parameter tractable). Possible objections to the Tractable Cognition thesis, and its proposed formalization, are discussed, and existing misconceptions are clarified. IS - 6 JF - Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal EP - 984 TI - The Tractable Cognition Thesis PB - Psychology Press VL - 32 SP - 939 KW - cognitive KW - complexity KW - in KW - parametrized KW - science KW - theory AU - van Rooij, Iris PY - 2008/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03640210801897856 ER -