onboarding.md

Cognition Lab onboarding

Complete the following checklist.

People and places

• Take a walk around the Stevens campus and familiarize yourself with all the buildings and landmarks on this map: https://www.stevens.edu/sites/stevens_edu/files/files/Brand-Assets/StevensCampusMap.pdf
• Go to the waterfront and familiarize yourself with some of the buildings on the other side of the river. Can you find:
  • One World Trade Center
  • The Chrysler building
  • Hudson Yards
  • The Whitney Museum
  • VIΛ 57WEST by BIG
  • Chelsea Market
  • The High Line
  • IAC Building
  • 463 West Street
  • Chelsea Piers
• Walk around Hoboken and visit:
  • Washington Street
  • Birthplace of Baseball Monument
  • Carlo's Bakery
  • Clam Broth House
  • Lackawana Station
  • Sybil's Cave
  • Castle Point Park
• Join the lab's Slack channel (cognition-at-stevens.slack.com)
• Get the Slack app for desktops, and (optionally) for mobile devices
• Change your Slack avatar.
• Introduce yourself to everyone on the lab's Slack channel
• Write a 1-3 sentence bio for the lab website. Send the bio and a headshot to Jordan.

Research tools and certifications

• Complete the CITI training program: https://about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage/. Select the "Social Science & Management Groups" variant. Upload the certificates here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/OOvemM1yEbykhpTmCqnO. Use LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_#.pdf as the naming scheme.
• Make sure you have access to journals through the library: https://library.stevens.edu/
• Get VPN access: https://sit.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/KB/?CategoryID=535

Metalearning

• Read "The sting of intentional pain". https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/gray2008sting.pdf
• Complete the QALMRI+ worksheet: https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/QALMRI.pdf
• Read these study techniques. https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/bjork.pdf
• Download Anki and create 10 cards based on things you wished you could remember
• While doing the following readings, create new cards based on information you want to remember

General background readings on cognition

• Read "The standard equipment": https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/pinker1997standard-equipment.pdf
• Read Marr's chapter on the three levels of analysis: https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/marr.pdf
• Read "Animal cognition", pgs. 155-160: https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/gallistel1989representation.pdf
• Read an introduction to AI, pgs. 1-16: https://suchow.io/assets/cognition/aima-intro.pdf
• Watch "The humane representation of thought": https://vimeo.com/115154289

Eliciting your goals and aligning your work to them

• Create a list of specific skills you are hoping to learn
• Create a list of specific topics you are hoping to learn more about
• In a conversation with Jordan:
  • Find a project that aligns with your learning goals and the lab's
  • Determine relevant background readings specific to that project
  • Determine the best "deliverable" / goal for your project
• Create a Gantt chart or calendar or list or something else that reflects the plan you have developed

Logistics

• Set a weekly meeting time with Jordan
• Ask Jordan to say your full name, and make sure he says it exactly to your satisfaction
• Say Jordan's full name to him, and make sure you're getting it right to his satisfaction
• Get some sort of lab notebook and keep notes