Introduction to Volume 2, Issue 1 of topiCS

Abstract

Happy Birthday to topiCS! With this issue, the Cognitive Science Society, the topiCS Editorial Board, and the greater cognitive science community celebrate the first anniversary of our innovative new journal, Topics in Cognitive Science. More than simply surviving our first year, we have flourished. Four science-packed issues were published on time (a considerable feat for a new journal), important topics were discussed, and many of the best and brightest researchers and thinkers of 21st century cognitive science contributed their most profound thoughts and interesting new work. We go into our second year with many new topics under review and in progress. We can promise that if you liked the first volume of topiCS, you will love the second. The first issue of our second volume has three topics. The first represents a new tradition, the Commentary. Max Coltheart (Macquarie University, Australia) has written an interesting and pointed critique of the Patterson and Plaut paper, “Shallow Draughts Intoxicate the Brain”: Lessons from Cognitive Science for Cognitive Neuropsychology, which appeared in the first issue of topiCS (Volume 1, Issue 1). Plaut and Patterson reply by discussing Coltheart’s points and defending their own. Our readers should note that each issue of topiCS reserves page space for commentaries. It is our intention that, as in this case, commentaries will be published as soon as possible. The second topic is a continuation of the one handled by Associate Editor Michael Gorman that appeared in the last issue (Volume 1, Issue 4), Cognition in Science and Technology. The papers in the current issue complete the planned papers on this topic. Commentaries are, of course, encouraged. The third topic represents the first anniversary of the Best Of topic that was introduced one year ago in our inaugural issue (Volume 1, Issue 1). All Best Of papers start out as conference papers. This year’s batch appeared at the Cognitive Science Conference or in the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling. All Best Of papers have been triply reviewed. They were first reviewed when they were submitted to their conference. They were next reviewed when they were nominated and then awarded one of the several prizes available to conference authors. They were last reviewed when considered for journal publication in topiCS. The Best Of topic provides a vehicle for getting excellent quality, late-breaking research into the journal and out into the wider world of cognitive science as soon as possible. We hope you enjoy the interesting and important papers contained in this issue of topiCS and that, like us, you are looking forward to the next issue. The easiest way to propose a new topic is to send an e-mail note directly to the Executive Editor, Wayne Gray, at grayw@rpi.edu. Keep this first note short (about 300–650 words or fewer). Be sure to consult the topiCS FAQ page, http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/topiCS/FAQs.html, for Preparing a Proposal for topiCS. The journal regrets to report that Professor Gooding passed away while this issue of topiCS was in production. We are honored to publish his last work.