Despite the advances of neuroscience we’re no closer to understanding how the physical brain generates consciousness than we ever were. What if it’s actually a far simpler mechanism than we
Continue readingIt’s Alive! What sentient data networks could tell us about human consciousness
The idea that sleep has a reparative effect on the brain is longstanding. Even outside neurology, such a claim seems obvious to anyone who’s ever experienced the bone-deep fatigue of
Continue readingMemories in the Night: How Your Brain Comes Alive While You Sleep
She’s your favorite actress. You’ve been following her career since she was in her early teens. You know her face with as much familiarity as family members. You can see
Continue readingWhat ‘Tip of the Tongue’ Tells Us About How Memory Works
Nobody can tell you how it feels. Maybe you can’t even make sense of how it feels yourself. Your feelings – along with what feels like most of your organs
If you’ve ever become bored with eating the same kind of lunch every day, looked at your sleeping partner and wondered what you ever saw in them or regretted your career choice, you’ve felt the effects of one of our most highly developed survival mechanisms. … Continue readingFuture Shock
The concepts of self, story, emotion and empathy are closely linked in the human animal. Whatever they can teach us about what we are and where we’re headed, it’s certain they’ve played a pretty big part in getting us this far. … Continue readingWired For Stories
The drive to connect and communicate is in fact so strong it exists even in the absence of the communication methods most of us know – it’s a drive we can’t hold in any more than the instinct to eat or sleep. … Continue readingThe Sounds of Silence
As our understanding of the way the brain works deepens, such technology will shine even more light onto many cognitive abilities and phenomena, including our seemingly-immutable sense of self. … Continue readingYou, Rewired
In the late 18th century painting, sculpting and sketching were used in what was called the ‘moral treatment’ of psychiatric patients, but it wasn’t until the mid 20th century that the practice became more widespread. … Continue readingThe Art of Healing
As a cultural or religious practice, fasting has a long enough history some anthropologists might be tempted to think it has a biological or evolutionary basis. … Continue readingThe Brain Without Food
