Why do human brains need social interaction? Why might AI chatbots be insufficient to scratch the itch? What do we love so much about real human touch and in-person interaction? Why do so many of us live with dogs? From empathy to introversion to social media to isolation (and what to do about it), we’ve got it all this week with guest Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends. 

Why do human brains need social interaction? Why might AI chatbots be insufficient to scratch the itch? What do we love so much about real human touch and in-person interaction? Why do&nbsp;so many of us live with dogs? From empathy to introversion to social media to isolation (and what to do about it), we&rsquo;ve got it all this week with guest Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends.&nbsp;

Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman discusses how our brain interprets the world and what that means for us. Through storytelling, research, interviews, and experiments, David Eagleman tackles wild questions that illuminate new facets of our lives and our realities.

Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman discusses how our brain interprets the world and what that means for us. Through storytelling, research, interviews, and experiments, David Eagleman tackles wild questions that illuminate new facets of our lives and our realities.

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

Ep125 "Why do brains need friends?" (with Ben Rein)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e92e03df-6220-44ec-abe5-b375002af1cc/transcript

Could a tiny injury to your brain change your personality? If your friends didn’t know something had happened in your brain, would they just think you're choosing to act strangely? What if the self is nothing but a fragile coalition of neural processes? Join Eagleman today with Masud Husain, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Oxford, to explore fascinating case studies about how changes in the brain lead to changes in the self.

Could a tiny injury to your brain change your personality? If your friends didn&rsquo;t know something had happened in your brain, would they just think you're choosing to act strangely? What if the self is nothing but a fragile coalition of neural processes?&nbsp;Join Eagleman today with Masud Husain, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Oxford, to explore fascinating case studies about how changes in the brain lead to changes in the self.

Ep159 "If Your Brain Changed Slightly, Would You Still Be You?" with Masud Husain 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b0bbe068-981c-4814-a5ea-b471004ecfb4/transcript

When AI gets the right answer, how do we know it got there the right way? Why do we assume that fluent language means intelligence? What do infants and chatbots have in common? What do AI’s mistakes teach us about our own minds? And what does any of this have to do with Frankenstein’s creature, why some people wear a stop sign on their T-shirt, or smiling monkeys? Join Eagleman today with computer scientist Melanie Mitchell, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute who’s working to bridge AI and cognitive science.

When AI gets the right answer, how do we know it got there the right way? Why do we assume that fluent language means intelligence? What do infants and chatbots have in common? What do AI&rsquo;s mistakes teach us about our own minds? And what does any of this have to do with Frankenstein&rsquo;s creature, why some people wear a stop sign on their T-shirt, or smiling monkeys? Join Eagleman today with computer scientist Melanie Mitchell, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute who&rsquo;s working to bridge AI and cognitive science.

Ep158 "What do babies, animals, and AI have in common?" with Melanie Mitchell  

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b2d50aa8-dabe-47c3-89d0-b46a001dcd67/transcript

How can we use 26 symbols to capture everything in the cosmos of human experience? Where do our written symbols in English come from? What ancient ghosts are still hiding inside the letters you read every day? Does learning to read reconfigure the circuitry of your brain? Does dyslexia reveal how unnatural reading really is? And could AI freeze the evolution of language for the first time in history? Today we dive into the alphabet with linguist Danny Bate, who’s just written a book on the surprising history of every letter.

How can we use 26 symbols to capture everything in the cosmos of human experience? Where do our written symbols in English come from? What ancient ghosts are still hiding inside the letters you read every day? Does learning to read reconfigure the circuitry of your brain? Does dyslexia reveal how unnatural reading really is? And could AI freeze the evolution of language for the first time in history? Today we dive into the alphabet with linguist Danny Bate, who&rsquo;s just written a book on the surprising history of every letter.

Ep157 "Where Did the Letter "A" Come From?" with Danny Bate

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/62193523-12c5-4272-b5f5-b46300287db1/transcript

Ep125 "Why do brains need friends?" (with Ben Rein)

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