science

Symbolic Systems Program

Symbolic Systems Program is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Symbolic Systems Program rather than just read about it. In short: The Symbolic Systems Program, colloquially abbreviated as SymSys, is a unique degree program at Stanford University for undergraduates and graduate students. It is an interdisciplinary degree encompassing the following: Computer science Linguistics Mathematics Philosophy Psychology Statistics It is separate from Cognitive Science in that it is more expansive in scope.

Key takeaways

Symbolic Systems Program belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Symbolic Systems Program to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Symbolic Systems Program from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Symbolic Systems Program, colloquially abbreviated as SymSys, is a unique degree program at Stanford University for undergraduates and graduate students. It is an interdisciplinary degree encompassing the following:

Computer science Linguistics Mathematics Philosophy Psychology Statistics It is separate from Cognitive Science in that it is more expansive in scope. On March 7, 1986, the degree program was approved by the Stanford University Faculty Senate.

Applications of linguistics In the Linguistics Society of America report Linguistics in the Study of Information and Intelligence, Tom Wasow, founder and former director of the program, states in his report that the program is a program of which:Linguistics plays a central role in the program because, as the systematic study of human language, it can contribute greatly to the development of a general theory about how information is conveyed through symbols. The field of linguistics also deals with an exceptional range of phenomena, and is intellectually and practically accessible to an undergraduate student, making it an especially suitable vehicle for teaching undergraduates how to evaluate theories. The report continues with the following idea in its introduction: A child answers the phone and is instructed to hand the telephone to an adult. The report then presents with the need for an interdisciplinary approach for creating computer technology to do the same actions as the child would do when answering the phone.

Notable graduates from program Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, who graduated on 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in symbolic systems and cognitive science. Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo from 2012 to 2017, who graduated in 1997 with BS in symbolic systems. Mike Krieger, the co-founder and former CTO of Instagram, who graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in the SymSys program. Krieger, in the same year that he was to be awarded his bachelor's degree, won the Barwise Award for Distinguished Contribution to Symbolic Systems. Scott Forstall, was the software development team leader for the original iPhone at Apple Inc. as well as was a Broadway producer. Matt Flannery, the founder of the microlending organization Kiva. James Rucker, the co-founder of Color of Change. Srinija Srinivasan, the former editor-in-chief of Yahoo!, the co-founder of Loove (a music venture), and vice chair of Stanford University's board of trustees and a board member of the On Being Project. Tania Lombrozo, the director of the Concepts and Cognition Lab and Professor of Psychology at Princeton University and was formerly professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. Tony Tulathimutte, award-winning author and lead instructor at the creative writing workshop CRIT

Barwise Award for Distinguished Contributions to Symbolic Systems Inaugurated in 2001, the K. Jon Barwise Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Symbolic Systems Program was created in honor of the late Kenneth Jon Barwise, Professor in the Department of Philosophy, who served as the first faculty director of Symbolic Systems and a member of the program's founding committee.

The Symbolic Systems Distinguished Teaching Award Inaugurated in 2021, the award recognizes the contributions to the teaching of Symbolic Systems. With support from the School of Humanities and Sciences, the award recipients each receive a certificate and a monetary award.

References

External links The Symbolic Systems 25th Anniversary

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Symbolic Systems Program

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Symbolic Systems Program claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Symbolic Systems Program before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Symbolic Systems Program ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Symbolic Systems Program

In research: Symbolic Systems Program appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Symbolic Systems Program in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Symbolic Systems Program is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cognitive science, Philosophy education, Silicon Valley people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Symbolic Systems Program outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Symbolic Systems Program in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Symbolic Systems Program means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Symbolic Systems Program out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Symbolic Systems Program in simple terms?

Why does Symbolic Systems Program matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Symbolic Systems Program?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Symbolic Systems Program.