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Birth & Early Years
Kenneth J. W. Craik was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He attended Edinburgh Academy during his youth scholastic years. -
Early Academic Career
At 17, Craik entered college at the University of Edinburgh. In college he won the Hamilton and Shaw fellowships at the University of Cambridge. -
Doctorate
Craik received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Cambridge. Craik became the Director of Medical Research Council’s Applied Psychology Unit. He specialized in visual physiology problems, such as glare and dark adaptation, but Craik was also fond of philosophy and machines. Later his interests lied with natural sciences and comparing humans to machines. -
Craik publishes his book titled "The Nature of Explanation"
In this book, Craik introduces his concept of ‘mental models’, to explain his thoughts on cognitive brain function. Craik remarks, "My hypothesis then is that thought models, or parallels, reality—that its essential feature is not 'the mind', 'the self, 'sense data', nor propositions but symbolism, and that this symbolism is largely of the same kind as that which is familiar to us in mechanical devices which aid thought and calculation" (Craik, 1943). -
Death
On May 8th, Kenneth Craik was sadly struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Cambridge, England and died at the age of 31. Link text
