-
7Recursive Numeral Systems Optimize the Trade‐off Between Lexicon Size and Average Morphosyntactic ComplexityCognitive Science 48 (3). 2024.Human languages vary in terms of which meanings they lexicalize, but this variation is constrained. It has been argued that languages are under two competing pressures: the pressure to be simple (e.g., to have a small lexicon) and to allow for informative (i.e., precise) communication, and that which meanings get lexicalized may be explained by languages finding a good way to trade off between these two pressures. However, in certain semantic domains, languages can reach very high levels of info…Read more
-
14Questions About Quantifiers: Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Quantity Processing by the BrainCognitive Science 47 (10). 2023.One approach to understanding how the human cognitive system stores and operates with quantifiers such as “some,” “many,” and “all” is to investigate their interaction with the cognitive mechanisms for estimating and comparing quantities from perceptual input (i.e., nonsymbolic quantities). While a potential link between quantifier processing and nonsymbolic quantity processing has been considered in the past, it has never been discussed extensively. Simultaneously, there is a long line of resea…Read more
-
24The Boolean Language of Thought is recoverable from learning dataCognition 239 (C): 105541. 2023.
-
97Exploring the tractability border in epistemic tasksSynthese 191 (3): 371-408. 2014.We analyse the computational complexity of comparing informational structures. Intuitively, we study the complexity of deciding queries such as the following: Is Alice’s epistemic information strictly coarser than Bob’s? Do Alice and Bob have the same knowledge about each other’s knowledge? Is it possible to manipulate Alice in a way that she will have the same beliefs as Bob? The results show that these problems lie on both sides of the border between tractability (P) and intractability (NP-har…Read more
-
7Quantifiers satisfying semantic universals have shorter minimal description lengthCognition 232 (C): 105150. 2023.
-
33Parameterized Complexity of Theory of Mind Reasoning in Dynamic Epistemic LogicJournal of Logic, Language and Information 27 (3): 255-294. 2018.Theory of mind refers to the human capacity for reasoning about others’ mental states based on observations of their actions and unfolding events. This type of reasoning is notorious in the cognitive science literature for its presumed computational intractability. A possible reason could be that it may involve higher-order thinking. To investigate this we formalize theory of mind reasoning as updating of beliefs about beliefs using dynamic epistemic logic, as this formalism allows to parameteri…Read more
-
28Logic and Cognition: Special Issue of Best Papers of the ESSLLI 2012 WorkshopJournal of Logic, Language and Information 22 (4): 357-362. 2013.The explanatory power of logic is vast and therefore it has proved a valuable tool for many disciplines, including the building-blocks of cognitive science, such as philosophy, computer science, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and linguistics. Logic has a great track record in providing interesting insights by means of formalization, and as such it is very useful in disambiguating psychological theories. Logically formalized cognitive theories are not only the source of unequivocal experim…Read more
-
18Uncovering the Structure of Semantic Representations Using a Computational Model of Decision‐MakingCognitive Science 47 (1). 2023.According to logical theories of meaning, a meaning of an expression can be formalized and encoded in truth conditions. Vagueness of the language and individual differences between people are a challenge to incorporate into the meaning representations. In this paper, we propose a new approach to study truth-conditional representations of vague concepts. For a case study, we selected two natural language quantifiers most and more than half. We conducted two online experiments, each with 90 native…Read more
-
6Heavy Tails and the Shape of Modified NumeralsCognitive Science 46 (7). 2022.Cognitive Science, Volume 46, Issue 7, July 2022.
-
12Indefinite Pronouns Optimize the Simplicity/Informativeness Trade‐OffCognitive Science 46 (5). 2022.Cognitive Science, Volume 46, Issue 5, May 2022.
-
19Computational complexity explains neural differences in quantifier verificationCognition 223 (C): 105013. 2022.
-
17Monotone Quantifiers Emerge via Iterated LearningCognitive Science 45 (8). 2021.Natural languages exhibit manysemantic universals, that is, properties of meaning shared across all languages. In this paper, we develop an explanation of one very prominent semantic universal, the monotonicity universal. While the existing work has shown that quantifiers satisfying the monotonicity universal are easier to learn, we provide a more complete explanation by considering the emergence of quantifiers from the perspective of cultural evolution. In particular, we show that quantifiers s…Read more
-
2Problems with Logical FormStudia Semiotyczne—English Supplement 25 85-100. 2004.The examination of quantifiers plays an essential role in modern linguistic theories. One of the most important issues in this respect was raised by Jaakko Hintikka, who proposed the following thesis: Certain natural language sentences require essential non-linear quantification to adequately express their logical form.
-
5Computational Semantics for Monadic Quantifiers in Natural LanguageStudia Semiotyczne—English Supplement 26 105-130. 2007.One of the interesting problems in the theory of language is the problem of describing and explaining the mechanisms responsible for our ability to understand sentences. A description of the mechanism of linguistic competence, which we can refer to as semantic competence, is necessary for understanding the phenomenon of language. For to use a language is not only to use a certain vocabulary and grammatical rules, but most of all to associate certain meanings with certain expressions. For example…Read more
-
65Learnability and Semantic UniversalsSemantics and Pragmatics. forthcoming.One of the great successes of the application of generalized quantifiers to natural language has been the ability to formulate robust semantic universals. When such a universal is attested, the question arises as to the source of the universal. In this paper, we explore the hypothesis that many semantic universals arise because expressions satisfying the universal are easier to learn than those that do not. While the idea that learnability explains universals is not new, explicit accounts of lea…Read more
-
417Tractability and the computational mindIn Mark Sprevak & Matteo Colombo (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Computational Mind, Routledge. pp. 339-353. 2018.We overview logical and computational explanations of the notion of tractability as applied in cognitive science. We start by introducing the basics of mathematical theories of complexity: computability theory, computational complexity theory, and descriptive complexity theory. Computational philosophy of mind often identifies mental algorithms with computable functions. However, with the development of programming practice it has become apparent that for some computable problems finding effecti…Read more
-
17Branching Quantification v. Two-way Quantification: ArticlesJournal of Semantics 26 (4): 367-392. 2009.We discuss the thesis formulated by Hintikka that certain natural language sentences require non-linear quantification to express their meaning. We investigate sentences with combinations of quantifiers similar to Hintikka's examples and propose a novel alternative reading expressible by linear formulae. This interpretation is based on linguistic and logical observations. We report on our experiments showing that people tend to interpret sentences similar to Hintikka sentence in a way consistent…Read more
-
156Semantic bounds for everyday languageSemiotica 2012 (188): 363-372. 2012.We consider the notion of everyday language. We claim that everyday language is semantically bounded by the properties expressible in the existential fragment of second–order logic. Two arguments for this thesis are formulated. Firstly, we show that so–called Barwise's test of negation normality works properly only when assuming our main thesis. Secondly, we discuss the argument from practical computability for finite universes. Everyday language sentences are directly or indirectly verifiable. …Read more
-
78A Computational Approach to Quantifiers as an Explanation for Some Language Impairments in SchizophreniaJournal of Communication Disorder 44 2011. 2011.We compared the processing of natural language quantifiers in a group of patients with schizophrenia and a healthy control group. In both groups, the difficulty of the quantifiers was consistent with computational predictions, and patients with schizophrenia took more time to solve the problems. However, they were significantly less accurate only with proportional quantifiers, like more than half. This can be explained by noting that, according to the complexity perspective, only proportional q…Read more
-
65We study a generalization of the Muddy Children puzzle by allowing public announcements with arbitrary generalized quantifiers. We propose a new concise logical modeling of the puzzle based on the number triangle representation of quantifiers. Our general aim is to discuss the possibility of epistemic modeling that is cut for specific informational dynamics. Moreover, we show that the puzzle is solvable for any number of agents if and only if the quantifier in the announcement is positively acti…Read more
-
44The Computational Complexity of Quantified ReciprocalsIn Peter Bosch, David Gabelaia & Jérôme Lang (eds.), Lecture Notes on Artificial Intelligence 5422, Logic, Language, and Computation 7th International Tbilisi Symposium on Logic, Language, and Computation, Springer. 2009.We study the computational complexity of reciprocal sentences with quantified antecedents. We observe a computational dichotomy between different interpretations of reciprocity, and shed some light on the status of the so-called Strong Meaning Hypothesis.
-
135Comprehension of Simple Quantifiers: Empirical Evaluation of a Computational ModelCognitive Science 34 (3): 521-532. 2010.We examine the verification of simple quantifiers in natural language from a computational model perspective. We refer to previous neuropsychological investigations of the same problem and suggest extending their experimental setting. Moreover, we give some direct empirical evidence linking computational complexity predictions with cognitive reality.<br>In the empirical study we compare time needed for understanding different types of quantifiers. We show that the computational distinction betwe…Read more
-
115Logic in Cognitive Science: Bridging the Gap between Symbolic and Connectionist ParadigmsJournal of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (2): 279-309. 2010.This paper surveys applications of logical methods in the cognitive sciences. Special attention is paid to non-monotonic logics and complexity theory. We argue that these particular tools have been useful in clarifying the debate between symbolic and connectionist models of cognition.
-
59Almost All Complex Quantifiers are SimpleIn C. Ebert, G. Jäger, M. Kracht & J. Michaelis (eds.), Mathematics of Language 10/11, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6149, Springer. 2010.We prove that PTIME generalized quantifiers are closed under Boolean operations, iteration, cumulation and resumption.
-
84Quantifiers and Working MemoryIn Maria Aloni & Katrin Schulz (eds.), Amsterdam Colloquium 2009, LNAI 6042, Springer. 2010.The paper presents a study examining the role of working<br>memory in quantifier verification. We created situations similar to the<br>span task to compare numerical quantifiers of low and high rank, parity<br>quantifiers and proportional quantifiers. The results enrich and support<br>the data obtained previously in and predictions drawn from a computational<br>model.
-
33On the Identification of Quantifiers' Witness Sets: A Study of Multi-quantifier SentencesJournal of Logic, Language and Information 23 (1): 53-81. 2014.Natural language sentences that talk about two or more sets of entities can be assigned various readings. The ones in which the sets are independent of one another are particularly challenging from the formal point of view. In this paper we will call them ‘Independent Set (IS) readings’. Cumulative and collective readings are paradigmatic examples of IS readings. Most approaches aiming at representing the meaning of IS readings implement some kind of maximality conditions on the witness sets inv…Read more
-
78Tractable versus Intractable Reciprocal SentencesIn J. Bos & S. Pulman (eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Semantics 9, . 2011.In three experiments, we investigated the computational complexity of German reciprocal sentences with different quantificational antecedents. Building upon the tractable cognition thesis (van Rooij, 2008) and its application to the verification of quantifiers (Szymanik, 2010) we predicted complexity differences among these sentences. Reciprocals with all-antecedents are expected to preferably receive a strong interpretation (Dalrymple et al., 1998), but reciprocals with proportional or numerical q…Read more
Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Language |
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Philosophy of Computing and Information |
PhilPapers Editorships
Generalized Quantifiers |