The New Down Syndrome Action Plan

  Three Stories  First, my middle son is a Junior in college and is taking a Cognitive Psychology class. While preparing for an exam he came to me a bit stressed. The information was new and complicated and he was having difficulty applying the principles to scenarios laid out in the book. He told me the topic was processing and asked for guidance.  Let's see, time with my adult son while nerding out to cognitive science? You don't have to ask me twice! Second, I had coincidentally been reading a book called Seeing What Others Don't; The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights,  by Gary Klein. In it, he attempts to solve the "mystery" of how remarkable insights occur to some and not others.  Third, I think of all the intellectual programs we did when Lucas was a baby. I remember having the honor of meeting Glen Doman at the Institutes when I was in Philadelphia for the Developmental course, and remember the discussions around intelligence. The Institutes impressed upon...

  Artificial Intelligence and Learning My husband doesn't like the term artificial intelligence. He thinks a better description is organized intelligence.  Just as a calculator can not calculate without human intelligence punching in the directions and a maps app can not chart your course without a person first telling it where they want to go, so it is with AI's ability to organize information.  Our work in general often times depends on something or someone external to us organizing information. A paralegal, a research assistant, a therapy aide, a teacher's aide, etc., all perform specific tasks or gather specific pieces of information upon request.  The therapy aide may not know the reason for the specific exercises after a tendon release surgery, but they are extremely efficient and skilled at carrying them out. A head researcher may be on the brink of a life changing discovery, but gathering the proof she needs to make her case will take many hours of digging in...