# Former postdoc proposes new way to think about intelligence

From Inside Science:

Alexander Wissner-Gross, a physicist at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cameron Freer, a mathematician at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, developed an equation that they say describes many intelligent or cognitive behaviors, such as upright walking and tool use.

The researchers suggest that intelligent behavior stems from the impulse to seize control of future events in the environment. This is the exact opposite of the classic science-fiction scenario in which computers or robots become intelligent, then set their sights on taking over the world.

The paper acknowledges work done while Freer was supported as a postdoc in our department during 2010-2011.

# PhD alumnus details odds of winning $360 million Powerball jackpot A fun news video of John Mackey (UHM PhD ’94) being interviewed about Powerball. Mackey is now Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Carnegie Mellon University math department. # Alumna’s son reelected # UH Leeward CC Selected for National Math Program Leeward has been selected as one of only 38 two-year institutions nationwide to participate in a new program, supported by a$2.3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, focusing on redesigning remedial/developmental math courses.

Professor Eric Matsuoka and Instructor Jennifer Watada were instrumental in writing the grant. Eric received his MA in the UHM Math Dept in 1994.
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