Through Cognitive Science, the study of thinking, I have learned how the brain processes new information,
retains it, and adapts it. The integrative research approach of Cognitive Science takes elements from psychology,
neuroscience, computer science, philosophy of mind, and linguistics, to piece together an understanding of the mind that
is more holistic and dynamic than any one strand of research. As such, I have seen first hand the positive effects of
tailoring the learning process to the individual mind. For example, my undergraduate dissertation on recurrent neural
networks in chess-playing machines emphasises the significance of self-learning rules in the understanding of chess.
From a philosophical, psychological and computational standpoint, this self learning and adapting of one's own
knowledge/heuristics is a key component of truly understanding a topic, rather than older computational approaches of
pre-coded chess heuristics and brute force architecture. Likewise, a student who forms their own understanding of a
topic is able to adapt and flexibly use that knowledge, incorporating new ideas as they come up, rather than limiting
themselves to the rigid ‘rules’ or facts that someone else has imposed on them.