Thursday, September 11, 1pm
Dr. David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University
Because of brain plasticity, much of our behavior and thinking becomes automatized: from driving to speaking to responding to situations. But a healthy, flexible brain requires a constant challenge via novelty. Dr. Eagleman takes you on a tour of the subconscious to answer some of the deepest questions of who we are, and then resurfaces into the conscious mind to explain why seeking novelty is so critical to brain health, particularly as we age.
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, an internationally bestselling author, and a Guggenheim Fellow. Dr. Eagleman is the author of many books, including Livewired, The Runaway Species, The Brain, Incognito, and Wednesday is Indigo Blue. He writes for the Atlantic, New York Times, Economist, Time, Discover, Slate, Wired, and New Scientist, and appears regularly on National Public Radio and BBC to discuss both science and literature. He has been a TED speaker, a guest on the Colbert Report, and profiled in the New Yorker magazine. He has spun several companies out of his lab, including Neosensory, a company which uses haptics for sensory substitution and addition. He runs the top ranking science podcast Inner Cosmos (which Melissa loves!) and is the writer and presenter of The Brain, an Emmy-nominated television series on PBS and BBC.