Artificiality: Minds Meeting Machines

Barbara Tversky: Spatial Cognition

Apr 30, 2022

Barbara Tversky, an emerita professor at Stanford and a pioneer in spatial cognition, reveals how our understanding of space influences abstract thought. She discusses the limitations of language in reflecting our cognitive processes and the creative power of sketching. Tversky explores the challenges of self-driving cars, emphasizing cultural differences in driving behaviors. Her insights challenge current AI designs to consider spatial reasoning as a crucial element, demonstrating that our relationship with space shapes not just thought, but also how we interact with technology.

01:07:01

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Barbara Tversky

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Quick takeaways

Barbara Tversky argues that spatial thinking underpins abstract thought, challenging the traditional view that language is central to human cognition.

The importance of sketching as a creative tool is emphasized, demonstrating how it can generate new ideas and enhance understanding through visual expression.

Deep dives

The Foundation of Abstract Thought

Spatial thinking is presented as a crucial element of abstract thought, countering the common belief that language forms the core of human cognition. Barbara Tversky's research highlights how our ability to recognize and remember spatial relationships significantly contributes to how we think and understand the world. She argues that much of human cognition is grounded in our interactions with the spaces we inhabit, suggesting that spatial reasoning can unlock deeper insights into both practical and abstract concepts. This perspective is particularly relevant as advancements in AI focus primarily on language, neglecting the potential power of spatial reasoning in technology design.

Intro

2min

Exploring Spatial Cognition

23min

The Power of External Representations in Creativity

21min

The Intersection of Human Expertise and Automated Decision-Making

5min

The Intersection of Culture and Driving Behavior

8min

Navigating Space: The Multisensory Approach to Spatial Cognition

4min

The Power of Intuition: Experience in Decision Making

5min

Have you ever wondered why you can recognize and remember things but can’t describe them in words? That is one of the questions that started Barbara Tversky’s contrarian research and academic career, leading to her theory that spatial thinking is the foundation of abstract thought. While most people were focused on language as central to human thinking, Barbara recognized that our relationship with the spaces we inhabit, including mental ones, provided a unique way of understanding the world. In her book, Mind in Motion, Barbara shows how spatial cognition is the foundation of thought and allows us to draw meaning from our bodies, our movements and the spaces around us.

We find Barbara’s work to be incredibly fascinating, especially as we consider the current approach to AI and technology design. While there is an extraordinary amount of investment being made into language AI, Barbara’s work causes us to wonder about the opportunities for AI that taps into our spatial reasoning. We’re just starting to scratch the surface of this idea in our design work and thank Barbara for uncovering the idea and sharing it in her wonderful book.

In this episode, we talk with Barbara about spatial thinking as the foundation of abstract thought, the linearity of spaces and perception of distances, putting thought into the world, the creative power of sketching, self-driving cars, aphantasia (aka lacking a mind’s eye) and the confusion between sight and navigational ability.

Barbara Tversky is an emerita professor of psychology at Stanford University and a professor of psychology at Teachers College at Columbia University. She is also the President of the Association for Psychological Science. Barbara has published over 200 scholarly articles about memory, spatial thinking, design, and creativity, and regularly speaks about embodied cognition at interdisciplinary conferences and workshops around the world. She lives in New York.

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