The Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition
The Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition (aka the Fluid Analogies
Research Group, or simply FARG) is an
interdisciplinary center for research in cognitive science, directed
by Douglas
Hofstadter. CRCC is affiliated with the
Cognitive Science Program at
IU, and has close ties with the
Computer Science Department.
CRCC research focuses mainly on
emergent computational models of creative analogical thinking and its
subcognitive substrate -- namely, fluid concepts. 
Several computer
programs modeling the interplay between concepts and perception in the
course of analogy-making have been developed; these include the Copycat and
Tabletop programs. The Letter Spirit project,
modeling the perception and creation of style in
the world of letterforms, has now resulted in a Letter Spirit program capable
of designing and evaluating gridfonts.
The group also conducts research (mostly non-computational) in a
number of other areas of cognitive science, including error-making,
creative translation, scientific discovery, musical composition, the
comprehension and invention of jokes, the nature of sexist language
and default imagery, philosophy of mind, and foundations of artificial
intelligence.
To get more of an idea of what it is that CRCC does, you can explore our research topic pages. When you want more detail, you can read our publications, explore the many links to the home pages of FARGonauts past and present, or buy the book.
Douglas Hofstadter's many interests are described at: http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/hofstadter/
Eugene Onegin, Pushkin's Paradoxical Gem
Insight and Invention in Geometry
Ambigrams and the Mechanisms of Creativity
Several computer
programs modeling the interplay between concepts and perception in the
course of analogy-making have been developed; these include the Copycat and
Tabletop programs. The Letter Spirit project,
modeling the perception and creation of style in
the world of letterforms, has now resulted in a Letter Spirit program capable
of designing and evaluating gridfonts.The group also conducts research (mostly non-computational) in a
number of other areas of cognitive science, including error-making,
creative translation, scientific discovery, musical composition, the
comprehension and invention of jokes, the nature of sexist language
and default imagery, philosophy of mind, and foundations of artificial
intelligence.To get more of an idea of what it is that CRCC does, you can explore our research topic pages. When you want more detail, you can read our publications, explore the many links to the home pages of FARGonauts past and present, or buy the book.
Douglas Hofstadter's many interests are described at: http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/hofstadter/
Recent Events
- September, 2010: Douglas Hofstadter elected a Distinguished Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society.
- May, 2010: Douglas Hofstadter elected a Foreign Member of The Royal Society of Sciences at Uppsala in its Class for Physics and Mathematics ('fysisk-matematiska klassen'). The Royal Society of Sciences at Uppsala was founded in 1710.
- April, 2009: Douglas Hofstadter elected to the American Philosophical Society.
- April, 2009: Douglas Hofstadter elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- April, 2008: Douglas Hofstadter wins the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best science & technology book for his book I Am a Strange Loop.
Courses
2009 Fall Course Offering:
Eugene Onegin, Pushkin's Paradoxical Gem
2010 Fall Course Offerings:
Insight and Invention in Geometry
Ambigrams and the Mechanisms of Creativity
