Signal Processing for Cognitive Radios

2THE COGNITIVE RADIO

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word cognition as conscious mental activities.¹ The mental activities include thinking, learning, understanding, and remembering. Hence, cognition necessarily means performing these mental activities consciously or while being aware of doing them. A little more detailed is the definition given in the Oxford English Dictionary²: The word cognition means the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Again, it is a mental process but is defined to be involved specifically in the acquisition of knowledge and comprehension through thought, experience, and the senses. Cognition, however, only goes so far as to acquire knowledge and comprehend. In addition, importantly, both are achieved by the entity itself through its own thought, senses, and experience. On the other hand, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word intelligence means the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations or the ability of skilled use of reason. ³ Similarly, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. ⁴ Thus, intelligence means not only the ability to acquire knowledge and understand but also the ability to apply the acquired knowledge and understanding through proper reasoning. Cognition, on the other hand, goes so far as gaining knowledge and understanding but consciously. ...