Today, we have a much more sophisticated understanding of computation than ever before. We are starting to understand the differences between the kinds of computations done by biological processes and those done by today's computers. We are gaining a much deeper understanding of what knowledge might be, of how decisions are made and of what thought is. The brain is not a computer, at least not anything like the computers that currently exist, but the brain does indeed provide the physical mechanisms for the behavior of the mind, including information processing, thinking, remembering, creating, and imagining. The human brain is one of the most complex structures in existence.
Mental events are very difficult to study.
Only a limited amount of mental behavior reaches conscious awareness. We are influenced by the environment, by past experience, by emotions, and by the powers and limitations of human thought mechanisms. Nevertheless, we need to break this barrier if we are ultimately to understand human behavior. The study of human cognition thrives. Research groups and educational programs in Cognitive Science flourish across the country and around the world.