XSCAPE Project asks in what ways the worlds we build and inhabit alter our own minds and the ways we process information. To answer this question, the project brings together a unique team from archaeology, vision science, and cognitive philosophy. Using a carefully curated set of materials, spanning a range of cultures and a wide sweep of archaeological, historic, ethnoarchaeological and contemporary settings, we aim to test, for the first time, the hypothesis of materiality-driven cognitive change. The project will develop and deploy a new synergistic methodology that combines multiple real-world case studies with state-of-the-art visual neuroscience, and agent-based simulations.
With the over 40 world-wide case studies to be conducted, this project will constitute the largest ecological experiment on embodied visual perception ever attempted. It will also use the emerging paradigm known as ‘active inference’ (or ‘predictive processing’) which offers a principled means of linking perception, attention, and actions with cognitive change and learning.
Using this unique combination of archaeological materials, visual neuroscience, and simulation- based studies, we aim to deliver the first fully-integrated framework for understanding the potent, yet ill-understood, cycles by which we, humans, make and transform the structured worlds that make and transform our minds.
The project focuses on the potential for action of reification in world history. This is of great relevance, especially in today's world, where communication takes place less and less via writing and where perception plays a key role in digital technologies. Our results could potentially have profound implications for society, touching upon various aspects of human life and prompting us to rethink fundamental assumptions about cognition, technology, ethics, and social organization. First, our results would likely drive innovation in technology, leading to the development of more intuitive and adaptive tools and interfaces. Second, in doing so, they will question issues about ownership, privacy, and access to external cognitive resources. Third, our experiments could inform new approaches to rehabilitation and therapy for individuals with cognitive impairments. Forth, they could also lead to significant changes in educational practices; leading to more personalized and effective learning strategies tailored to small groups or individual needs.
