Mathematical Structures of Natural Intelligence

Yair Neuman is a Professor at The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience at Ben-Gurion University. He holds a BA in Psychology (Major) and Philosophy (Minor) and a PhD in Cognition (Hebrew University, 1999), and his expertise is in studying complex cognitive, social, and symbolic systems from a unique interdisciplinary approach. Professor Neuman has published numerous papers and five academic books and has been a visiting scholar or professor at MIT, the University of Toronto, the University of Oxford, and the Weizmann Institute of Science. Beyond his purely academic work, he has developed state-of-the-art algorithms for social and cognitive computing, such as those he developed for the IARPA metaphor project (ADAMA group).

“The text has a significant philosophical and psychological flavor interestingly combined with mathematical concepts. ... The author presents his vision on describing philosophical aspects regarding natural intelligence in mathematical terms. His point of view can be of interest for readers wishing to enrich their knowledge and make new connections.” (Liviu Goraș, zbMATH 1383.92003, 2018)

• Part I. 1. Introduction.- 2. What is Structure?.- 3. Category Theory.- 4. How to Trick the Demon of Entropy.- 5. Neural Networks and Groupoids.- Part II. 6. Natural Intelligence in the Wild.- 7. Natural Intelligence is about meaning.- 8. From Identity to Equivalence.- 9. On Negation.- 10. Modeling.- 11. On Structures and Wholes.- Part III. 12. Let's Talk About Nothing.- 13. King Richard is a Lion.- 14. The Madman and the Dentist.- 15. Discussion.- References.- Author index.- Subject index.