We are living a grand illusion. As we watch Large Language Models (LLMs) draft essays, write functional code, and converse with poetic nuance, we operate under a quiet, dangerous assumption: that if we just stack enough parameters, compute cycles, and training text high enough, true understanding and intent will eventually spark at the top.

It won’t.

https://ocrampal.com/the-quest-for-an-impossible-theory-why-computation-cant-solve-meaning-and-what-it-means-for-llms/

#programming #AI #intelligence #cogsci #philpsy #neurosky #philosophy

I'm at #Duke to share methods and results from Socratic Reflection experiments to the Advances in Decision Analysis #conference:

#2026ADA website: https://conferences.fuqua.duke.edu/2026-informs-advances-in-decision-analysis-conference

Follow the URL below for our results and my posts about other talks or posters I see.

#cogSci #xPhi #AI

Can 3-6 year-olds distinguish between reliable vs. unreliable informants?

A study of 93 #kids found the children were sensitive to source reliability, with limited abilities to generalize across contexts.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2026.106547

#devPsych #cogSci #epistemology #xPhi #parenting

This notebook explores "epistemic curvature" and homotopy-theoretic #activeinference using a REAL WORLD example.

The example is very simple, but there are plans to extend it to large-scale social networks in the future.

#Science #cogsci #math

https://colab.research.google.com/drive/16tUQiybglvn2RfzKuu_0uoI_drPQIRYS?usp=sharing

Why can’t the tech world agree on whether AI actually "reasons"?

It turns out, the answer is hidden in how we talk about feeling cold.

https://www.ocrampal.com/i-am-vs-i-have-how-everyday-grammar-secretly-influences-the-ai-debate/

#programming #AI #intelligence #cogsci #philpsy #neurosky #philosophy

Do logical visual aids (such as Venn diagrams) improve argument evaluation?

Not in this study of 164 English speakers (with "normal or corrected-to-normal vision and no issues seeing color").

https://doi.org/10.1111/cgf.70476

#logic #teaching #edu #visualization #CogSci #learningScience

CSCI 1377: Tools for Thought (Spring 2026)

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://cel.cs.brown.edu/csci-1377-s26/