Cognitive Worlds
A book-in-progress on the three-worlds ontology of AI-mediated cognition.
Brief
Cognitive Worlds is the long-form treatment of the three-worlds ontology that runs through the rest of this site. The argument the book makes is that the educational reckoning with generative AI requires a clearer model of cognition, of school, and of assessment than the public conversation has so far supplied — and that a Popperian-Penrosean three-worlds framework gives us most of what we need.
Approach
The book is being written in the open: chapter drafts circulate through a small reading group, and the shorter dispatches that go out via Substack are field tests for the chapters' arguments. The structure pairs each ontological chapter with a practical case study — the chapter on World 2 sits beside the case for oral defence, the chapter on World 3 sits beside the maker-learning case, and so on.
Status
Manuscript is approximately 60% drafted as of early 2026. The target is a complete first draft by end of 2026, with a publisher decision in the first quarter of 2027. The bibliography and chapter notes are visible to the reading group and will be made public alongside publication.