Damian G. Stephen

    Status: Graduate Student (Ph.D., projected 2010)

    Advisor: James A. Dixon

    Affiliations: Department of Psychology, Perception-Action-Cognition, Center

    for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action  

    Curriculum vitae (Updated Nov. 20, 2009): pdf, html





Research Problem (or "How could a milkshake act like a computer?")
My work is an attempt to explore the physical underpinnings of cognition.  We have some fairly strong intuitions that cognition has something to do with the brain.  Recent theories of cognition that treated the brain as a computer that picks up information, stores it in a hard drive, and puts it out in a motor command or a conscious thought. 
The computer that you're using to read this page runs on a silicon-based microprocessor, metal wiring all soldered into place, and plastic casing.  The brain is mostly water, fat, and sugar.  So is a milkshake.  However, we do not typically consult a tall, cool, chocolate milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry on top for its deep thoughts.  The question I would like an answer to is: How could a milkshake act like a computer?


General Hypothesis (or "It's not the ingredients; it's how they get stirred up.")
Cognition is the emergent property of a complex system.  Complex systems are not to be confused with complicated systems. Complexity is a state of interaction-dominance, context-sensitivity, and self-organization.  Said without hyphens: Cognition is not a game of smoking guns and central processors.  The interactions of many small, parts conspire to produce intelligent behaviors depending on the current demands and constraints.  Complex-systems theory is a relatively new field in the physical and biological sciences that offers tools for probing these interactions and for predicting the emergence of structure.

NOTE: I make no pretense of being the only psychologist with the preceding hypothesis.  Just as I can claim no originality, there are a number of statements in the above paragraph that would deserve extensive citation in a peer-reviewed article. I have chosen not to include them only to remain concise and to avoid offending anyone I might forget to cite.  I am happy to share the appropriate citations with anyone who e-mails me.

Research Interests:

Psychological
Cognitive development
Learning
Problem solving
Categorization
Mathematical reasoning
Anticipation
Language
Visual perception
Synchronization
Infant crying


Other
Time-series analysis
Statistics
Nonlinear dynamics
Fractals (mono and multi)
Diffusion
Entropy
Dictyostelium discoideum (AKA, "slime mold")