@article {4192, title = {The statistical shape of geometric reasoning}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {8}, year = {2018}, month = {08/2018}, abstract = {

Geometric reasoning has an inherent dissonance: its abstract axioms and propositions refer to perfect, idealized entities, whereas its use in the physical world relies on dynamic perception of objects. How do abstract Euclidean concepts, dynamics, and statistics come together to support our intuitive geometric reasoning? Here, we address this question using a simple geometric task {\textendash} planar triangle completion. An analysis of the distribution of participants{\textquoteright} errors in localizing a fragmented triangle{\textquoteright}s missing corner reveals scale-dependent deviations from a deterministic Euclidean representation of planar triangles. By considering the statistical physics of the process characterized via a correlated random walk with a natural length scale, we explain these results and further predict participants{\textquoteright} estimates of the missing angle, measured in a second task. Our model also predicts the results of a categorical reasoning task about changes in the triangle size and shape even when such completion strategies need not be invoked. Taken together, our findings suggest a critical role for noisy physical processes in our reasoning about elementary Euclidean geometry.

}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-30314-y}, url = {http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30314-y}, author = {Hart, Yuval and Moira R Dillon and Andrew Marantan and Cardenas, Anna L. and Elizabeth S Spelke and Mahadevan, L.} } @article {461, title = {Abstracts of the 2014 Brains, Minds, and Machines Summer Course}, number = {024}, year = {2014}, month = {09/2014}, abstract = {

A compilation of abstracts from the student projects of the 2014 Brains, Minds, and Machines Summer School, held at Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab, May 29 - June 12, 2014.

}, author = {Nadav Amir and Tarek R. Besold and Raffaello Camoriano and Goker Erdogan and Thomas Flynn and Grant Gillary and Jesse Gomez and Ariel Herbert-Voss and Gladia Hotan and Jonathan Kadmon and Scott W. Linderman and Tina T. Liu and Andrew Marantan and Joseph Olson and Garrick Orchard and Dipan K. Pal and Giulia Pasquale and Honi Sanders and Carina Silberer and Kevin A Smith and Carlos Stein N. de Briton and Jordan W. Suchow and M. H. Tessler and Guillaume Viejo and Drew Walker and Leila Wehbe and Andrei Barbu and Leyla Isik and Emily Mackevicius and Yasmine Meroz} }