There are many kinds of patterns -- visual patterns, temporal patterns, logical patterns. Using a broad enough interpretation, we can find pattern recognition in every intelligent activity. No single theory of pattern recognition can possibly cope with such a broad range of problems. However, there are several standard models, including:
We are going to confine ourselves to the statistical approach. We will view pattern recognition as classification -- assigning an input to a category. By restricting the problem in this way, we will develop some useful general techniques that will satisfy our needs for this course.
On to Simple Classifiers 
Up to PR for HCI