Episodic accounts of spreading Brooksification.

Abstract

In June 2003, colleagues and alumni met at McMaster University to celebrate Lee's contribution [to psychology], giving him credit of the sort one usually has to die to receive (Larry Jacoby, personal communication, 2003). This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology comprises a Festschrift, summarizing those proceedings, in honour of Herr Professor Doctor Brooks. Early in his career, Lee took it upon himself to right the injustices paid to the letter F. Long undervalued despite its important place in society (presumably due to some unfortunate choice of company), the letter F was rehabilitated by being presented in innumerable textbooks in block form. Little did Lee know that this new font would also conclusively shed light on the nature of mental resource allocation and provide a prototype (if the term can be excused) of how to rigorously perform cognitive experimentation. Later serving as Founder and President of the Leptology Research Board (LRB), an internationally recognized centre of excellence in the study of leptons, Lee not only discovered the existence of minute creatures named leptons, but he taught a generation of graduate students and research associates to use the most modern conditioning techniques to study the phylogeny of these creatures and to eventually engineer new strains. One byproduct of this breeding ground has been an improved understanding of how humans coordinate analytic and nonanalytic processes when making categorization decisions. Refocusing instance theory on the importance of memory for specific components of a stimulus (instantiated features) and consideration of use (diverted analysis) were major advances in and of themselves. Using leptons to do so without sounding alarms at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PKTA) headquarters was devastatingly clever. As Lee ascended to the position of McMaster University's longest serving faculty member, it should come as no surprise that he turned his attention to the medical community. Possibly due to his having left his maintenance-free period, Lee has spent the past 15 years repeatedly demonstrating the importance of psychological theory for aiding real-world decision-making and using the applied domain of medicine to improve psychological theory. To assure her students that Lee Brooks was more than a legend, his colleague, Hetty Ann Levy, once suggested to students in her class that they touch Lee if they saw him in the hallway. In reality, Lee's work with dermatologists and other medical personnel should cause people to think twice about taking her advice. Throughout all of this Lee has proven to be an exceptional mentor, making the development of budding academics a priority. In one way or another every one of Lee's graduate students (and countless colleagues) have enjoyed the process of Brooksification. Some (e.g., John Vokey, Brucc Whittlesea) have sent their academic progeny to learn at the feet of the man himself. Others (i.e., Ron LeBlanc) have gone as far as to reward the carriers of their own genes (i.e., Vicki LeBlanc) with the opportunity to be Brooksified. Our sole regret is having been born too late to have children old enough to do the same. Such is the feeling of approbation that Lee inspires. In all seriousness, the example that Lee has provided continues to serve as an archetype of thoughtful science, good humour (despite the puns), and considered friendship. Studying in Lee's lab opened our eyes to cognition, politics, games, nature appreciation, and so much more. We are most grateful to him for sharing his experiences and look forward to many more years of being Brooksified. This special issue of CJEP provides a glimpse of the inspiration that Lee has provided to graduate students and colleagues alike and we invite you to peruse it and enjoy the stimulation that indirect Brooksification provides. Recits episodiques de la propagation de la brooksification Kevin W. …