ABSTRACT
In this article we reflect on the enduring and pervasive influence of Walter Kintsch. His theories and empirical research formed the bedrock of decades of national and international research on text and discourse processing, as well as cognitive science more broadly. His orientation was interdisciplinary, drawing on and contributing to the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, text linguistics, computational modeling, and education sciences. He mentored dozens of students and colleagues who collaborated with him on research over his 60-year career. He was always interested in new ideas and not afraid to cast aside old ideas that were misleading or that had outlived their relevance and utility. This article highlights Walter’s legacy contributions woven in with personal stories that exemplify some of the qualities that made Walter a legend in the field.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.