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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 

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Footnotes

Authors Chetverikov and van Bergen contributed equally to this work.

References

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