Prof Simon Kirby

Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences,
University of Edinburgh
Dugald Stewart Building
3, Charles St.
Edinburgh, EH8 9AD, UK
Office phone: +44 131 650 3494
Fax: +44 131 650 3962
Email: simon@ling.ed.ac.uk

Office: 1.09, Dugald Stewart Building
Office hours: by appointment (or just drop by!)

A picture of me
LOOK: Follow-up on the Horizon programme
and: Cybraphon from Found Electronics

University of Edinburgh LEC
I currently hold the Chair of Language Evolution at the Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, Linguistics and English Language, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. I am Director of the Graduate School, and Programme Director for the MSc in the Evolution of Language and Cognition.

RESEARCH

  • Evolution of language and the language faculty
  • Language as a complex adaptive system
  • Iterated learning and evolutionary theory
  • Quantitative approaches to the lexicon
  • Computational techniques for reconstruction of linguistic phylogenies
  • Functionalism and formalism in linguistic theory
  • Explanations for language universals based on processing and acquisition
  • Computational models of biological, social and cultural systems (Alife)
  • Machine learning, multi-agent systems, and evolutionary computation
  • Models of the evolution of music

TEACHING

SELECTED LECTURES

PUBLICATIONS

Language Evolution Book Function Selection and Innateness Book

Other stuff...

Music Misc link(s)
  • If you want a children's book on any topic you can think of, have a look at Anna's page. If she hasn't written it already, maybe she's writing it now...
  • If you want to hear some excellent music then I'd like to (somewhat randomly) recommend KT Tunstall, Amplifico, Gecko, Rosie Brown, Four Tet, Found and Murcof
  • If you want to be inspired then check out Jared Tarbell's understated computational art
  • (Ignore this, it is a test: cybraphon)