Introduction

Andrey Viscontas: I've been struck by the disconnect between what neuroscientists know or think they know about how the brain learns and remembers. Brain plasticity has been a hot topic for many years, so hot in fact that many people now are quite skeptical when a new book comes out to purport new knowledge. Hans-Joachim Watzke's How We Learn Came Across My Desk is based on his work as a European neuroscientist. What can he tell us about the kinds of brains we are born with, and what it takes to mold them into complex machines? Enquiring Minds explores where science and society collide.