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Li Xian and Zhou Yutong The popularity of " Spring Love Sends Love " has made David Eagleman and his book "The Story of Death" also appear on the hot search list recently. It turns out that Li Chen Maidong, the male protagonist currently played, affectionately recited a certain chapter of "The Story of Death" in the play.
David Eagleman is a world-renowned brain scientist: he teaches at Stanford University. As an authoritative figure in brain plasticity, time perception, synesthesia and neural rhythms, he has won the "American Neuroscience Society Science Educator Award".
David Eagleman is the most popular celebrity scientist. He is the scientific consultant for the hit American TV series "Westworld"; he directed the TV show "Inside Out" and was nominated for an Emmy Award. He has appeared on the cover of "Charming Man" magazine. , known as the most intelligent person in the world who can generate new ideas.
David Eagleman is a practitioner of brain science innovation: the founder of the technology innovation companies Braincheck and Neosensory. David Eagleman uses cognitive science theory to reveal the mechanism of creativity for us, and his own creativity is undoubtedly the best endorsement.
In his books "Flying Species", "The Hidden Self", "The Story of the Brain", "The Story of Death", etc., Eagleman uses a professional neuroscientific perspective to help us interpret "who am I" and "how do we "Perceiving the World", "How our brains develop", how the brain makes correct decisions, etc., break through thinking stereotypes and enhance understanding of the hidden self.
Although he is a scientist, in terms of fictional writing, the textual narratives created by Eagleman are equally fascinating - "The Story of Death" topped the New York Times bestseller list as soon as it was published, and has been adapted into operas many times. ,Movie.
Based on the novels of Borges and Calvino, Eagleman created 40 stunning afterlife stories in "Stories of Death". Each story reflects the possibility of life and contains all aspects of ourselves: yearnings, desires, and dreams for different lives, poetic reveries about other worlds, and even our unknown secrets.
htmlWhen he was 08 years old, Eagleman went to a construction site not far from his home to "climb over a wall" and accidentally fell off the wall, causing a fracture of his nasal bone. This fall only lasted a few seconds, but at that time Eagleman felt that time had slowed down. Even today, more than 30 years later, he still remembers the feeling vividly, describing it as "the feeling Alice had when she rolled down the rabbit hole."This special experience inspired Eagleman's interest in time perception, leading him to engage in research in this area in the future, and eventually became one of the most influential experts in this field. Eagleman has also personally tried "zero-gravity bungee jumping" many times, successfully testing this difference in time perception and verifying the special experience that impressed him during his childhood.
During the production of the first season of Westworld, Eagleman happened to be talking to one of the showrunners. When he learned that the drama team had no scientific consultant, he flew to Los Angeles in person and held an eight-hour discussion with the drama's writers and producers, putting forward his own ideas on all the core issues in the drama.
In the second season, the show began to explore the essential issue of "free will". This is the research field that Eagleman is most familiar with, so he personally served as the scientific consultant for this season. During the screenwriting stage, Eagleman brainstormed with the screenwriters and producers on topics such as "memory", "consciousness" and "various possibilities of artificial intelligence", and used a scientific attitude to perfect this mind-blowing science fiction. story.
Eagleman·Quick Questions and Answers
1. Does the brain mature until the age of 30?
Eagleman: By the age of 25, the brain’s transition from childhood to adolescence is finally over. The structural transformation of our identity and personality is complete, and the brain now appears to be fully developed.
But in fact, the brain continues to change into adulthood.
Things that can be shaped and maintained in shape are called plastic. That's what happens with the brain, even in adulthood: People's experiences change it, and it retains those changes.
For example, a London taxi driver repeatedly memorizes a complex city map in his mind. Over a long period of time, the hippocampus area responsible for memory will undergo significant changes.
2. Will "face plastic surgery" help improve acting skills?
Eagleman: Every moment of our lives, brain circuits are decoding the emotions of others based on extremely subtle facial cues. People involuntarily use their facial muscles to imitate the expressions they see. People will respond to smiles with smiles, even if the muscle movements are so slight that they are not noticeable.
People imitate each other unintentionally. This is a mirror reaction. This also explains why couples who have been married for many years become more and more similar because they "mirror" each other's faces over the years, and their wrinkle patterns gradually become the same. Stiff muscles after Botox not only make it difficult to express one's own emotions, but are also difficult to interpret other people's expressions.
3. Why can’t we control ourselves?
Eagleman: When I saw the bed, I lay down on it unconsciously. Believe me, this is the brain that takes action first! For neural networks that crave instant gratification, the options presented to them are often more valuable than simulated ones.
To the brain, the future will always be just a dim and powerless shadow of the "now".
4. Why is memory often unreliable?
Eagleman: Memory is not a video that accurately records every moment of your life; it is a fragile brain state from the past that only emerges when you recall it.
Your memory of one thing is responsible for the neurons that participated in the experience at that time, but each neuron has to play multiple roles. In the life-long work, the original memory will gradually be blurred by other memories.
The enemy of memory is not time, but other memories.
5. About Alzheimer's disease
Eagleman: Even if the brain tissue is "ravaged" by Alzheimer's disease, it does not necessarily mean that the person will have cognitive problems. Environment and behavior shape the brain, and they are equally important for your later years.
performs cognitive exercises, activities that keep the brain active, such as crossword puzzles, reading, driving, learning new skills, socializing, etc. They have a protective effect.
In turn, scientists have found that negative psychological factors such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression are related to rapid cognitive decline.
6. Can people live forever?
Eagleman: For the past 50 years, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation has been developing technologies that will allow people alive today to enjoy a second life cycle later.
Currently, the organization has preserved 129 people in deep cryo, halting the biological decay process of their bodies. In the future, perhaps the necessary technology can be developed and people can truly enjoy a second life.
7. People always live in the past?
Eagleman: Human perception requires the brain to compare different sensory data. But there's one thing that makes this comparison a real challenge: timing.
The brain processes various sensory data such as vision, hearing, and touch at different speeds.
In order to achieve "sound and picture synchronization", the brain will build a story of "what happened" after collecting all the information. So the "reality" we feel is actually a delayed version.
8. The brain cannot completely record the world it sees?
Eagleman: When we observe the world with our eyes, the brain will build an internal model of the external world. However, this model is not a copy of the external world, but will lose a lot of detailed information. Why is this? Because the brain consumes too much energy. 20% of the calories consumed by the human body are used to power the brain, so the brain will try to operate in the most energy-efficient way.
This means that the brain only processes the most useful information to meet our needs to survive in the world, which explains why we generally don't remember everything we see.
9. In dangerous moments, do you feel like time has slowed down?
Eagleman: When the human body is threatened, the "amygdala" area of the brain operates at high speed, mobilizing resources from other parts of the brain, all of which are used to deal with the situation at hand. When the amygdala is engaged, the retained memories are far more detailed and richer than normal, activating a secondary memory system.When we recall this moment, the details of our memory tell us that the event must have lasted much longer.
