Concepts embody our knowledge of the kinds of things there are in the world. Tying our past experiences to our present interactions with the environment, they enable us to recognize and understand new objects and events. Concepts are also relevant to understanding domains such as social situations, personality types, and even artistic styles. Yet like other phenomenologically simple cognitive processes such as walking or understanding speech, concept formation and use are maddeningly complex. Research since the 1970s and the decline of the "classical view" of concepts have greatly illuminated the psychology of concepts. But persistent theoretical disputes have sometimes obscured this progress. The Big Book of Concepts goes beyond those disputes to reveal the advances that have been made, focusing on the major empirical discoveries. By reviewing and evaluating research on diverse topics such as category learning, word meaning, conceptual development in infants and children, and the basic level of categorization, the book develops a much broader range of criteria than is usual for evaluating theories of concepts.

An account that analyzes the dynamic reasoning processes implicated in a fundamental problem of creativity in science: how does genuine novelty emerge from existing representations? How do novel scientific concepts arise? In Creating Scientific Concepts, Nancy Nersessian seeks to answer this central but virtually unasked question in the problem of conceptual change. She argues that the popular image of novel concepts and profound insight bursting forth in a blinding flash of inspiration is mistaken. Instead, novel concepts are shown to arise out of the interplay of three factors: an attempt to solve specific problems; the use of conceptual, analytical, and material resources provided by the cognitive-social-cultural context of the problem; and dynamic processes of reasoning that extend ordinary cognition. Focusing on the third factor, Nersessian draws on cognitive science research and historical accounts of scientific practices to show how scientific and ordinary cognition lie on a continuum, and how problem-solving practices in one illuminate practices in the other. Her investigations of scientific practices show conceptual change as deriving from the use of analogies, imagistic representations, and thought experiments, integrated with experimental investigations and mathematical analyses. She presents a view of constructed models as hybrid objects, serving as intermediaries between targets and analogical sources in bootstrapping processes. Extending these results, she argues that these complex cognitive operations and structures are not mere aids to discovery, but that together they constitute a powerful form of reasoning—model-based reasoning—that generates novelty. This new approach to mental modeling and analogy, together with Nersessian's cognitive-historical approach, make Creating Scientific Concepts equally valuable to cognitive science and philosophy of science.

"Discover interactive learning fun for little hands: Colors, shapes, numbers, and opposites are the building blocks that help children learn about the world around them. In this multi-sensory volume, filled with bright and appealing illustrations, children will learn to name and identify various concepts and the objects that represent them. It's the perfect baby shower gift! Contains 60 textures that will keep little minds and little fingers engaged through every page. Features many objects familiar in a young child's world. Xavier Deneux's chic, bold style and insightful grasp of what makes younger children think, connect, and smile has resulted in over 100 critically lauded books. This generously oversized volume of My Big Touch-and-Feel Concepts Book helps young readers build vocabulary and develop picture and word associations"--Amazon.com.

A comprehensive undergraduate textbook covering both theory and practical design issues, with an emphasis on object-oriented languages.

Black & white print. Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.

Now thoroughly revised and updated, this systematically presented coursebook tells you everything you need to know about advertising, from how to write copy and choose a typeface, to how agencies work and the different strategies used for print, TV or cinema and other media, including interactive. Exercises throughout help the reader judge their own work and that of others. By getting to the heart of the creative process in a way that other guides dont, the book can help anyone produce better advertising. This new edition features a thoroughly revised and updated chapter on interactive advertising, with new exercises and some thirty new illustrations. 'Invaluable' Creative Review 'Enormously encouraging, practical and entertaining. If this book could stand in front of a class (of creative students) and talk, I'd be out of a job.' Tony Cullingham, Course Director, The Watford Creative Advertising Course, West Herts College