CGSC 270 (Fall 00)

Introduction to Cognitive Science

Prof. Frawley

Examination #1

Answers to this examination, in hardcopy, are due in class on October 5, 2000. Late papers are not accepted and will receive the grade of F. Papers must be in word-processed form and thoroughly edited and proofed.

Find an article in a popular news source that illustrates one or more principles of cognitive science; describe the principle(s) (one page) and then explain how the article illustrates the principle(s) (one page). Attach a copy of the article to your answers.

Specifics:

The article can be from any news source, hardcopy or internet, provided that the source is devoted to current events for the general public. Scientific and technical sources are not allowed. Thus, the Wilmington Journal, NY Times, Boston Globe, etc. are acceptable sources. Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Psychology Today, academic/professional journals, etc. are not acceptable sources.

Your answers should look as follows:

1. Copy of the article

2. Description of the principle(s) of cognitive science: one page

3. Explanation of how the article illustrates the principle(s): one page

Think before you write. Review the principles we have been discussing to make sure you understand them and can use them to help your search. Make a careful search of news sources for articles that might be relevant to the principles. Feel free to consult the instructor or the TAs.

Use the internet. Try searching with any standard search engine using keywords related to cognitive science principles. A useful meta-search engine is www.dogpile.com. A search using dogpile and the search term “compute,” with the Newscrawler button checked, revealed the following site:

http://www.foxnews.com/vtech/091200/telematics.sml

This is a Foxnews article about smart computing for cars and could easily be an article that illustrates principles we have discussed. You may not use this article as your own, for obvious reasons.