SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

March 14-18, 2011 Workshop on Semiotics, Cognitive Science and Mathematics at the Fields Institute (map), 222 College Street Organizing Committee Chair: Marcel Danesi (Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology), University of Toronto Co-Chair: Mariana Bockarova (Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology), Harvard University Campus Organizers: Spencer De Corneille & Alison Kathleen Inez Mann

The Fields Institute and the Department of Anthropology of the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, are pleased to present the interdisciplinary workshop Semiotics, Cognitive Science and Mathematics.

OVERVIEW

Following are among the main themes and areas of knowledge to be explored through lectures, discussions, group activities during the workshop

(1) The sign-based foundations of mathematical representation
(2) Modeling the structure of problems in mathematics through computer algorithms and various programming strategies based on semiotic theory
(3) The relation between language and mathematics
(4) The relation between mathematical representations and discovery of further mathematical knowledge
(5) The sign based nature of mathematical learning, and especially the role of metaphor and figurative cognition generally in the acquisition of mathematical notions (based on the work of Lakoff and Nuñez)

INVITED SPEAKERS

Per Aage-Brandt, Case Western (Semiotics and Cognitive Science)
James C. Alexander, Case Western Reserve
Myrdene Anderson, Purdue (Anthropology and Semiotics)
John Deely, St. Thomas University, Houston (Semiotics and Philosophy)
Keith Devlin, Stanford (Mathematics)
Kalevi Kull, University of Tartu, Estonia (Biology and Semiotics)
Solomon Marcus, Mathematical Section of the Romanian Academy (Mathematics)
Yair Neuman (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Frank Nuessel, University of Louisville (Semiotics and Linguistics)
Rafael Nunez, University of California, San Diego (Cognitive Science)
Wolf-Michael Roth, University of Victoria (Semiotics and Mathematics)
Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii, University of Tokyo, Japan (Computer Science)
Mark Turner, Case Western (Cognitive Science)

Student Volunteers

The organizers would like to thank the following student volunteers for their involvement in making the workshop a success:

Bryers, Lorraine Compagnone, Vanessa Costa, Stacy De Corneille, Spencer Granata, Robert Kamtchatnova, Lisa Khan, Mohammad

Maida-Nicol, Sara Mann, Alison Kathleen Inez Modele, Kuforiji Nodalo, Joey Palangi, Angela Scott, Laura

Schedule of Talks

Monday, March 14, 2011
8:30 a.m - 9:00 a.m.	On-Site Registration and Morning Coffee
9:00 a.m.- 9:30 a.m.	Welcome and Introduction: Edward Bierstone (Fields Institute), Marcel Danesi (University of Toronto)
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.	Wolf-Michael Roth (University of Victoria, Semiotics and Mathematics) Tracking the Origin of Signs in Mathematical Activity: A Material Phenomenological Approach
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Rafael Nunez (University of California, San Diego, Cognitive Science) What is the nature of mathematics? A view from the Cognitive Science of the number line
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.	Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	Myrdene Anderson (Purdue University, Anthropology and Semiotics) Qualification of Quantification across the Curriculum
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.	Workshop on the Day's Theme
6:00 p.m	AFFILIATED ACTIVITY Keyfitz Lectures in Mathematics and the Social Sciences George Lakoff (Linguistics Dept, University of California Berkeley) The Cognitive and Neural Basis of Mathematics Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street (map)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.	Mark Turner (Case Western Reserve, Cognitive Science) Mental Packing and Unpacking in Mathematics
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Kalevi Kull (University of Tartu, Estonia, Biology and Semiotics) What mathematical structure is semiosis (if any at all)?
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.	Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	James C. Alexander (Case Western Reserve) Cognitive structures and semiotics of mathematics
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.	Workshop on the Day's Themes
7:00 p.m	Reception at Victoria College
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.	Solomon Marcus (Mathematical Section of the Romanian Academy, Mathematics) Mathematics, Between Semiosis and Cognition
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Keith Devlin (Stanford, Mathematics) Using a video game as a medium to represent mathematics for children learning basic mathematics
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.	Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	Frank Nuessel (University of Louisville, Semiotics and Linguistics) The Representation of Mathematics in the Media
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.	Workshop on the Day's Themes
4:30 p.m.	Reception at the Fields Institute (Atrium)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.	Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii (University of Tokyo, Japan, Computer Science) Dyadic vs. Triadic Sign Models Through Computer Programs
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Yair Neuman (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) Semiotics, Mathematics & Information Technology: The Future is already here ...
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.	Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	Joachim De Beule (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Agent-Based and Mathematical modeling in Semiotic Dynamics
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.	Workshop on the Day's Themes
Evening	L'Espresso Restaurant, cash bar (Music by the Semiotones), 321 Bloor Street West, (southeast corner of Bloor & St. George)
Friday, March 18, 2011
9:00 a.m - 9:30 a.m.	Morning Coffee
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.	Vitaly Kiryushchenko (St. Petersburg State School of Economics) Maps and Signs: The Visual and the Virtual in Peirce's Semiotics
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Fernando Soto Lewis Carroll's Name-Number Nexus: Snarky Wonderland Games.
11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.	Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	John Deely (St. Thomas University) The Semiosis of Mathematical Thinking
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
2:30 p.m.	Workshop on the Day's Themes
7:00 p.m.	Dinner at the Italian Cultural Institute

Final List of Participants :

Full Name	University Name
Alexander, James	National Science Foundation
Anderson, Myrdene	Purdue University
Bateson, Keith	McMaster University
Bockarova, Mariana	Harvard University
Brandt, Per Aage	Case Western Reserve University
Braudakis, Georgina
Chang, Rachel
Coppin, Peter	University of Toronto
Danesi, Marcel	University of Toronto
Davis, Chandler	University of Toronto
De Beule, Joachim	Vrije Universiteit Brussel
de Corneille, Spencer	University of Toronto
Deely, John	University of St. Thomas-Houston
Devlin, Keith	Stanford University
Giannini, Stefania	Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Inez Mann, Alison Kathleen	University of Toronto
Kotsopoulos, Donna	Wilfrid Laurier University
Kull, Kalevi	University of Tartu
Lakoff, George	University of California, Berkeley
Logan, Robert	University of Toronto
Marcus, Solomon	"Simion Stoilow" Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy
Martinovic, Dragana	University of Windsor
Morfin Ramírez, Mario Leonardo	York University
Neumann, Yair	Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nuessel, Frank	University of Louisville
Nuñez, Rafael	University of California, San Diego
Roth, Wolff-Michael	University of Victoria
Shorser, Lindsey	University of Toronto
Soto, Fernando
Tanaka-Ishii, Kumiko	University of Tokyo
Turner, Mark	Case Western Reserve University
Whiteley, Walter	York University