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Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

Latest episodes

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24 snips
Jul 10, 2023 • 1h 1min

Ep16 "Why is everyone who disagrees with you misinformed?"

Why is there so much polarization, and what does this have to do with neuroscience? Why do people on all sides of the political spectrum feel that if they could shout loudly enough in all caps on Twitter, everyone would come to see they’re right? And what does any of this have to do with literature, genetics, nobleman Lord Gordon, bumperstickers, visualization, or the Iroquois Native Americans? Join as Eagleman draws from distant fields to show why we always feel so certain we know the truth.
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Jul 3, 2023 • 55min

Ep15 "What should happen when someone with a brain tumor breaks the law?"

When does neuroscience overlap with the legal system? Do we have free will or don't we? Did changes in Charles Whitman's brain have something to do with him becoming a mass shooter? Why was the heir to the Gucci fashion fortune killed by his wife? Join Eagleman on a wild journey to understand what happens when the study of the brain and the law end up in the same courtroom.
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38 snips
Jun 26, 2023 • 38min

Ep14 "Why do we have so little access to what’s happening under the hood?"

Who is doing the choosing when you make a choice? Is there someone in your head but it’s not you? What is a chicken-sexer, and what do they have to do with British plane spotters during WWII? Do we have free will or don’t we? Dive in to discover the ways in which you typically operate with no conscious access to your behaviors.
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5 snips
Jun 19, 2023 • 33min

Ep13 "Will you perceive the event that kills you?"

How far in the past do you live? Why are live television shows not actually live? What does any of this have to do with nuclear bombs, car accidents, plane crashes, volcanos, or the last episode of the Sopranos? Join Eagleman in a mind-bending dive into the neuroscience of time and what it could mean for your last moment.
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11 snips
Jun 12, 2023 • 50min

Ep12 "Can we create new senses for humans?"

Can a blind person come to see through her tongue? What would it be like to smell with the nose of a dog? How can we perceive streams of information that are normally invisible to us? And what does any of this have to do with pilots or Westworld or tinnitus or friendly fire or a wristband with vibratory motors? We don't detect most of the action going on in the world around us... and today we'll explore how technology might change that.
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33 snips
Jun 5, 2023 • 48min

Ep11 "What does dreaming have to do with the rotation of the planet?"

Why are some of the best musicians blind? Can blind people learn how to echolocate, like a bat? What do your nightly dreams have to do with the rotation of the planet? Once we find alien life on other planets, should we expect that aliens have dreams at night? Find out why dreaming might be the strange lovechild of brain plasticity.
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17 snips
May 29, 2023 • 36min

Ep10 "Why is it so hard to spot a counterfeit bill?"

What do charlatans have to understand about human perception? Why are you so bad at recognizing a real penny among fakes? What did Eagleman have to do with the redesign of the Euro, and why did he campaign to the European Central Bank that all their bills should be blank with a single hologram in the middle? In this episode, explore the crossroads of perception and deception. Brief appearance from special guest Adam Savage. 
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29 snips
May 22, 2023 • 42min

Ep9 "What does eating that cookie have to do with the hero of the Trojan war?"

We all have goals, and we all face temptations that get in the way. So what's happening in the brain when we act in a manner that isn't in accordance with who we want to be? Computers don’t have these problems, but being human can be tough. In the previous two episodes we exposed the rivaling networks battling it out under the surface. Today we’re going to talk about the gap between what you intend to do and what you actually do when temptation is there. 
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59 snips
May 15, 2023 • 37min

Ep8 "How does your brain decide what to buy?"

What’s happening when you stand in the supermarket aisle and stare at the shelf full of options? It may not look like there’s much going on from the outside, but inside there’s a war of networks raging. How is your brain's decision-making influenced by price, emotions, and your group of friends? How would you choose between a nice candle and a chocolate bar in the shape of a computer keyboard? And what does any of this have to do with Starbucks or Tiger Woods or Burger King? 
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11 snips
May 8, 2023 • 46min

Ep7 "Is AI truly intelligent? How would we know if it got there?"

Modern AI is blowing everyone’s mind. But is it intelligent like humans, or is it just playing impressive statistical games? Could AI reach or exceed our level of intelligence, and how would we know when it gets there? Traditional tests for intelligence (Turing test, Lovelace test, etc) have long been surpassed, so Eagleman proposes a new kind of test. 

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