What is the distinction between fundamental and applied cognitive science?
I was genuinely surprised recently when someone told me they didn’t believe there was a real distinction between fundamental and applied work. They asked, “What do you mean by fundamental? You keep implying that some of us don’t do it.” I tried to explain that “fundamental” does not mean “superior,” and that my point wasn’t a criticism but simply a statement about the type of science we were discussing. I wasn’t successful in convincing them, so I’m writing this post in the hope that it will clarify the distinction for students and for anyone else who may share that misconception. The distinction between fundamental/basic and applied science has a long history. While I'm sure we can find some references to such distinctions in ancient philosophy, most people trace the distinction back to Vannevar Bush, who made the distinction when coming up with policy advice for the US president. This article , for example, describes that distinction and identifies an issue with how " basic...