Discover how humanity can use the mystery of neuroplasticity to its advantage.
Join neuroscientist David Eagleman for FUTURES Podcast LIVE, hosted by Luke Robert Mason.
The human brain is not hardwired it’s live-wired. Exciting new discoveries have revealed that the three pounds of wetware found inside of our heads is a dynamic system, constantly modifying its own circuitry. This unique property - known as neuroplasticity - allows the brain to adapt, recreate, and formulate new ways of understanding the world we live in; enabling us to gain the skills, facilities, and practices that make us who we are. But it also offers a host of new opportunities for those willing to test the limits of perception. Experiments in sensory substitution - the therapeutic field devoted to substituting one sense for another- reveals the ability our brains have to form a profound relationship with technology and points towards the potential for augmenting our existing senses.
What has synaesthesia and dreaming taught us about the human senses? How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue, or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? Might it soon be possible to control a robot with our thoughts? In what way can we leverage the brain as a platform for innovative new neurotechnologies?
Speakers
David Eagleman
Dr David Eagleman is a neuroscientist and internationally bestselling author. He teaches brain plasticity at Stanford University, is the creator and host of the Emmy-nominated television series The Brain, and is the CEO of NeoSensory, a company that builds the next generation of neuroscience hardware. The author of seven other books, he lives in California.
Featured Book
Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain by David Eagleman (Canongate, 2020)
A remarkable account of the brain’s plasticity, from the internationally bestselling author, David Eagleman.
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