Saturday, December 7, 2013

Princeton Alumni Association of Canada, Toronto Chapter 2013 Annual Dinner - December 18 2013

Please join us for the Princeton Alumni Association of Canada, Toronto Chapter 2013 Annual Dinner on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. 

Location: The National Club 303 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M5H 2R1 Canada

Details: Cocktails (cash bar) at 6:30 p.m.Dinner at 7:30 p.m.Cost: $40.00 per person (Free for Current Princeton Students)

Guest Speaker: Professor Nicholas Turk-Browne of the Department of Psychology

Title: Why you see what you expect to see

Abstract: Our visual sense seems as simple as a camera, just reflecting back to us whatever information reaches our eyes. However, what we see is actually created in our brains -- the end result of a very sophisticated mental process. In this talk, I will focus on an important part of this process: assumptions that our minds make about the structure of the world. I will first describe how these assumptions influence visual perception and explain visual illusions. I will then discuss how these assumptions might arise from learned expectations, and how such “statistical learning” can be studied experimentally in the lab. I will finally present two examples of our research in this area: (1) a brain imaging study about how statistical learning changes the way in which information is stored in the brain, and (2) a study of an amnesic patient that helps reveal which brain structures are most important for statistical learning. Overall, my goal is to highlight some of the inner workings of the mind, as well as to suggest how they might be realized in the brain.
Ordering Tickets: Please purchase tickets online at https://paac2013.eventbrite.ca.
If you prefer not to pay online, please RSVP by emailing Kevin Yip at kevinhyip@alumni.princeton.edu indicating number of guests and dietary restrictions. Please mail your cheques, payable to PAAC, to Belinda Schubert, c/o Ellyn Law LLP, 20 Queen Street W. Suite 3000, Toronto, ON M5H 3R3
Questions?:
Please contact Kevin Yip '01 or Belinda Schubert '03 if you have any questions.
We look forward to seeing you there,
Princeton Alumni Association of Canada, Toronto Chapter