Hi there, this is Ulas's web page (the name is pronounced like this: Ooh - lush
, but try to make the "Ooh" part short). I actually don't like personal
web pages (unless they are hillarious like this one),
but I had to have one, due to professional reasons. So I'll try to make
it as unpersonal as possible.
I 'm currently working on my PhD at the University
of Osnabrueck
in Germany, at the Graduate
School Rules and Patterns.
By the way, I've recently heard that Beck is a scientologist!!
Can you believe that?
The
origins of symbol use and communication in preverbal categorization: A
situated perspective
This is a continuation of my thesis, which you can read here.
And the original proposal is over here.
There's even a CV,
for those of you who would like to offer me my dream job with a huge
salary. After I finish my PhD, of course.
The thesis is supervised by Prof.
Kai-Uwe Kuehnberger, and I've
been working closely with Roul
S. John. Both are great guys, so
don't hesitate to click on the links. They even have photos on
their
websites. Roul also has some cool things he has written on his
website, most of which I agree with scientifically. Unfortunately it's
in German.
What I want to do is model symbol use and generation with embodied
agents.
Why symbols? Because you don't
have sophisticated (i.e. human level) intelligence without them, it
seems, and I believe that symbols and symbolic behavior don't come out
from the blue. They should be modelled just like any other kind of
behavior.
Why embodied agents? First of
all, I take embodied to mean
something very simple: physical,
i.e. robotic. There are a
number of reasons for prefering robots, but the following two are the
most important, in my humble opinion:
- Practical: They force one to take into account motoric and
sensory aspects of intelligence
- Theoretical: Embodied experience provides the common context in
which all content can be grounded. (Stated crudely here. If you want to
have a better idea, have a look at Richard Dreyfus' work).
For the fascinating, exhilarating, breath-taking, all-new,
revolutionary and crystal-clear details see my thesis and proposal.
They're much more modest than the website.
Publications
None
yet, since I'm
a lazy rascal. If you don't count the thesis, of course.