The Perception & Action Podcast 568 – Representations with Andrew Wilson
27 snips
Apr 7, 2026 
Andrew Wilson, a cognitive scientist exploring ecological approaches to perception and action, explains what representations are and why they are proposed. He contrasts internal models with information in the environment. He describes higher‑order invariants, neural resonance to information, how learning reshapes neural dynamics, and how language and symbolic thought might emerge.
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What Makes Something A Representation
- A representation is something different that stands in for another thing and takes part in a cognitive process.
- Andrew Wilson defines designation as the representation being used in a process to refer back to the thing it stands for, not just resembling it.
Why Cognitive Theories Postulate Internal Models
- Representations are proposed because perception was assumed to be indirect and ambiguous, requiring integration of cues into an internal model.
- Wilson explains internal models compute cue integration (e.g., disparity, motion parallax) and memory to produce a 'best guess' representation used to act.
Direct Perception Means The World Is Its Own Model
- The ecological alternative starts from direct perception: the world supplies specifying information, so internal stand-ins may be unnecessary.
- Wilson and Rob Gray stress the empirical task is to show information variables (higher-order invariants) exist and can be detected.
