Building Cognition: The Construction of Computational Representations for Scientific Discovery

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Systems Biology
• Scientific Discovery

Background:

• Novel computational representations are transforming scientific discovery.
• The cognitive roles of these representations are not well understood.
• Existing distributed cognition (DC) analyses primarily focus on memory offloading.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically analyze the cognitive roles of computational representations in scientific discovery.
• To extend distributed cognition (DC) theory by examining discovery processes.
• To investigate how building computational models facilitates scientific breakthroughs.

Main Methods:

• Ethnographic study of computational model building in a systems biology lab.
• Theoretical analysis of cognitive processes during model construction.
• Case study of an engineer's model-building leading to a bioscience discovery.

Main Results:

• Discoveries emerge from the iterative process of building computational representations.
• Model-building integrates imagination and manipulation, forming a coupled cognitive system.
• The computational model becomes integrated into the modeler's cognitive processes.

Conclusions:

• The study extends distributed cognition (DC) by highlighting its role in scientific discovery.
• Building computational models is a key cognitive process for generating new scientific knowledge.
• The findings have implications for both theoretical cognitive science and practical applications in scientific research.