Introduction to Volume 9, Issue 2 of topiCS.

Abstract

This issue contains two very different and very interesting topics. We lead with the latest entry in our ongoing series, “Visions of Cognitive Science,” a paper by Robert Hamlin (University of Otago, New Zealand) titled, The gaze heuristic: Biography of an adaptively rational decision process. This is an unusual paper that must have been fun to write as it was exceedingly interesting and fun to read. Indeed, having read it straight through in one sitting, I immediately sent this to my friend and colleague Professor Gerd Gigerenzer to ask him to give it a fast “reality check” for me. His response was swift and his reaction was much the same as mine. We decided that not only was this a great paper for Topics in Cognitive Science but that we would write a short introduction that would frame the paper's contributions and help catch the eye of our busy colleagues with a somewhat whimsical title: A simple heuristic successfully used by humans, animals, and machines: The story of the RAF and Luftwaffe, hawks and ducks, dogs and frisbees, baseball outfielders and Sidewinder missiles – Oh My! After having been the Editor of topiCS for nine years, I am also happy that in this issue, I have published my own topic, Game-XP: Action Games as Experimental Paradigms for Cognitive Science. However, rather than saying more about that topic in this space, it seems more appropriate for me to refer you to the Topic Editor's introduction. In case you missed it …—a brief mention of topics appearing in recent issues of topiCS. A year ago in April 2016 (Volume 8, Issue 2), Topic Editor D. Kimbrough Oller published the collection of papers “New Frontiers in Language Evolution and Development.” This collection is already attracting attention with 10 ISI citations to date for the papers. Five of these citations are to the Lupyan and Bergen paper, “How Language Programs the Mind” with the other five citations evenly distributed among other papers. In our field, a year between when one paper is published and a second paper written, submitted, reviewed, revised, published, and indexed is not a long time. We commend this interesting, scholarly, and (at times) provocative collection of papers to our readers. topiCS encourages letters and commentaries on all topics, and proposals for new topics. Letters are typically 400–1,000 words (maximum: two published pages) and will be published without abstract or references (possibly 1–2 but usually none). Commentaries are often solicited by Topic Editors prior to the publication of their topic. However, commentaries after publication are also considered and should range between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Most commentaries would not have an abstract and would not include many references. The Executive Editor and the Senior Editorial Board (SEB) members are constantly searching for new and exciting topics for topiCS. Feel free to open communications with a short note to the Executive Editor ([email protected]) or an SEB member (SEB members are listed under the Editorial Board heading on the publisher's homepage for topiCS (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1756-8765/homepage/EditorialBoard.html).