Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T10:44:43.694Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Optimality is critical when it comes to testing computation-level hypotheses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2019

Laura S. Geurts
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org
Andrey Chetverikov
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org
Ruben S. van Bergen
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org
Ying J. Zhou
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org
Andrea Bertana
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org
Janneke F. M. Jehee
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@donders.ru.nlwww.jeheelab.org

Abstract

We disagree with Rahnev & Denison (R&D) that optimality should be abandoned altogether. Rather, we argue that adopting a normative approach enables researchers to test hypotheses about the brain's computational goals, avoids just-so explanations, and offers insights into function that are simply inaccessible to the alternatives proposed by R&D.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Authors Chetverikov and van Bergen contributed equally to this work.

References

Girshick, A. R., Landy, M. S. & Simoncelli, E. P. (2011) Cardinal rules: Visual orientation perception reflects knowledge of environmental statistics. Nature Neuroscience 14(7):926–32. Available at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3125404&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract.Google Scholar
Marr, D. (1982) Vision: A computational investigation into the human representation and processing of visual information. W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Tomassini, A., Morgan, M. J. & Solomon, J. A. (2010) Orientation uncertainty reduces perceived obliquity. Vision Research 50:541–47.Google Scholar