Ling 848, Fall 2024: Computing and the Brain

Course Description

It is widely agreed that understanding the brain involves understanding its computations. What do we actually mean by computation? (Starting point: "computation" and "large language models" are not synonyms.) In this seminar we will get a foundation in what computation is, specifically in the context of what brains do; we will then delve into literature about two key features of the brain's computations, memory and prediction, with a focus on language. The last portion of the class will look at recent literature on these topics -- what questions are people asking, and what kinds of models are they proposing? No programming will be expected, and students from all departments are welcome, but students are expected to come in with some knowledge about computation, psycholinguistics/neurolinguistics, or both. If you're not sure, talk with Ellen or Philip.

Logistical info

Course Times: Tuesdays 2:00pm-4:30pm

Classroom: Woods Hall (WDS) 1131 [map]

Syllabus.

Schedule of Topics.

Class discussions and announcements will take place on Piazza -- sign up here if you're not already a member of the class there. It is very important that you check Piazza frequently and/or pay attention to email notifications about new messages there, since sometimes there's time-sensitive information.