Logic List Mailing Archive

PhD student position in "Computationally realistic architectures for a Bayesian brain", Nijmegen (The Netherlands), Deadline: 14 July 2013

PhD position 'Computationally realistic architectures for a Bayesian brain'

Faculty of Social Sciences
Vacancy number: 24.21.13
Closing date: 14 July 2013

> This PhD project aims to advance our understanding of the computational 
> foundations of probabilistic inference and learning in the brain. 
> According to current theory, even only approximately computing 
> probabilistic inferences is computationally intractable for situations 
> of real-world complexity. This is in marked contrast to the efficiency 
> of inference and learning as done by the brain in practice. The 
> objective of the project is to resolve this paradox by developing a new 
> theory that explains the efficiency of inference and learning as done by 
> the brain in practice. Using an innovative approach that combines formal 
> modeling, parameterized complexity analysis and computer simulation, we 
> aim to identify parameters of a computational architecture that can make 
> a probabilistic brain computationally efficient. The project will 
> furthermore involve conceptual (philosophical) analysis to derive the 
> implications of this new theory for current debates in the philosophy of 
> cognitive science.

For more details about the position and its conditions, see: 
http://www.ru.nl/newstaff/working_at_radboud/details/details-vacature?pad=%2fnewstaff&recid=527875