In this single lecture, we consider reason, which has played such an important role in rationalist views of what it is to be human. We meet inductive, abductive and deductive reasoning, discuss the relation of each to science and to mathematics, and have fun trying some tasks which may, or may not, be informative about our ability to reason. We finish with a poem.
Readings:
Accept defeat: The neuroscience of screwing up. An article from Wired magazine.
Additional resource:
Dealing with the data of the damned. A blog post from Vaughan Bell of Mind Hacks