N. Katherine Hayles (Duke University)

Unthought: The Power of the Cognitive Nonconscious
Recent research in cognitive science, neuroscience and other fields has revealed a level of neuronal processing inaccessible to consciousness; it goes by various names, but I call it the cognitive nonconscious.  Nonconscious cognition has been shown to play a major role not only for humans but for other lifeforms; on this view, all biological organisms have some cognitive capacities.  Cognition here is defined as a much broader activity than thinking; rather, it consists of processes of interpreting information in contexts that connect it with meaning.  By this definition, many technical devices also carry out sophisticated cognitive acts on a daily basis.  The framework grounding these ideas provides a robust way to think complex human and technical systems together, enabling a major paradigm shift in understanding the exponentially increasing penetration of computational and cognitive media into all areas of life in developed countries. More on N. Katherine Hayles