Associationist

/əˌsoʊʃiːˈeɪʃənɪst/ noun

Definition

A believer in associationism; someone who studies how people learn through making connections between ideas and experiences.

Etymology

From 'associationism' + -ist. Combines the root 'associate' (to connect) with philosophical suffix patterns common in 18th-19th century thought.

Kelly Says

Classic associationists like David Hume and John Stuart Mill were basically arguing that your brain is a pattern-recognition machine three centuries before deep learning existed—they just didn't have computers to prove it.

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