Why are conspiracy theories a natural output of the brain? What do they have to do with puzzle-solving, cognitive dissonance, ingroups/outgroups, and storytelling? If you hear an unlikely explanation for something, what are effective and ineffective ways to assess it? Join Eagleman to understand from the point of view of the brain why conspiracy theories have always been so pervasive in human societies.

Why are conspiracy theories a natural output of the brain? What do they have to do with puzzle-solving, cognitive dissonance, ingroups/outgroups, and storytelling? If you hear an unlikely explanation for something, what are effective and ineffective ways to assess it? Join Eagleman to understand from the point of view of the brain why conspiracy theories have always been so pervasive in human societies.

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

Ep66 "Why do brains love conspiracy theories?"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/38e56599-1c9a-4ffe-87fb-b1a7001a35aa/transcript

Why are the majority of stock trades decided by algorithms at timescales we can scarcely conceive of? What is it like to have the speed and power of a computer, and to be dealing with slow humans? Why are movies compelling, given that they are just a series of photographs flashed rapidly? And what happens if we someday discover planets with creatures who operate on totally different time scales? Join Eagleman this week for a deep dive into speed: the speed at which we operate, the speed at which our machines operate, and what this all means for the future as the divergence grows larger.

Why are the majority of stock trades decided by algorithms at timescales we can scarcely conceive of? What is it like to have the speed and power of a computer, and to be dealing with slow humans? Why are movies compelling, given that they are just a series of photographs flashed rapidly? And what happens if we someday discover planets with creatures who operate on totally different time scales? Join Eagleman this week for a deep dive into speed: the speed at which we operate, the speed at which our machines operate, and what this all means for the future as the divergence grows larger.

Ep68 "What if our brains worked a trillion times faster?"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/44337071-6000-4251-b405-b1b5002e4e2a/transcript

We're the single species who composes symphonies, erects skyscrapers, builds computers, and regularly gets off the planet. But how did human intelligence evolve from our ancestors in the animal kingdom? And now that our species is scintillatingly shrewd, what does a knowledge of our road mean as we work to build intelligence artificially? Join Eagleman this week with Max Bennett, an especially smart human who illuminates a path through the 600 million year story of brain power in his book "A Brief History of Intelligence".

We're the single species who composes symphonies, erects skyscrapers, builds computers, and regularly gets off the planet. But how did human intelligence evolve from our ancestors in the animal kingdom? And now that our species is scintillatingly shrewd, what does a knowledge of our road mean as we work to build intelligence artificially? Join Eagleman this week with Max Bennett, an especially smart human who illuminates a path through the 600 million year story of brain power in his book "A Brief History of Intelligence".

Ep67 "How did human brains get runaway intelligence? "

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c6a025ae-fc23-4775-b7fa-b1ad017d1dda/transcript

Did magicians discover tricks of the mind centuries before neuroscientists? Why can’t you see what they’re doing right in front of you? How do magicians steer your attention or appear to read your mind? Dive into the trapdoors of the human brain which allow the mind to get fooled. Join Eagleman with several guests: magician Robert Strong and cognitive neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde.

Did magicians discover tricks of the mind centuries before neuroscientists? Why can’t you see what they’re doing right in front of you? How do magicians steer your attention or appear to read your mind? Dive into the trapdoors of the human brain which allow the mind to get fooled. Join Eagleman with several guests: magician Robert Strong and cognitive neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde.

Ep65 "Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks?"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c7df7b45-29fc-44bd-8772-b1a000451a0d/transcript

Ep66 "Why do brains love conspiracy theories?"

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

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Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

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