The introduction to this chapter serves as an excellent orientation. Pay particular attention to the first two points at the end of the introduction, we will return to them repeatedly throughout the course. As you read this chapter think about the relationship between the challenges faced by primitive man and how those challenges shaped our brain. Predators without fangs or claws must be able to process information extremely efficiently.

Stephen Kaplan is an environmental psychologist at the University of Michigan and essentially the founder of the field. The basic tenet of environmental psychology is that information processing is closely tied to the environment. In this chapter Kaplan looks at the demands placed on perception that occur in a hostile environment. Creatures without the ability to respond quickly to danger are unlikely to survive. As we have already seen in the Newell chapter, speed is not easily obtained by a system with slow neural hardware. Kaplan makes the case here that one way to obtain speed and accuracy is by utilizing experience efficiently. This chapter will also serve as an introduction to the next major topic — the unit of thought.

This is our first introduction to William James in this course. Do not be put off by the age of the text, nor by its language; many of the ideas remain fresh 100 years later. We have discussed the idea briefly in class that a great deal of cognition takes place below the level of conscious thought. In this chapter James explores the relationship between evolution and cognition. While you are reading this chapter think about the chapters from Humanscape, and also the Newell chapter. There are many reasons why conscious thought might be considered to be a relatively minor aspect of cognition and many reasons why we cannot afford the luxury of conscious thought much of the time.