Meet Your Mind: A User’s Guide to the Science of Consciousness

I enjoyed this "Meet Your Mind" series, dated Nov 2012 and aired on WAMU 88.5 FM in Jan 13. The series inspired some deep thoughts about consciousness. What do we mean by consciousness? How well do I understand my own consciousness? Can one change, modify, or improve one's consciousness?


The six part radio series produced by To the Best of Our Knowledge (TTBOOK) is accompanied by a comic book style guide available HERE:

"What you hold in your hands is a comic book companion to Meet Your Mind: A User’s Guide to the Science of Consciousness — a series of 6 one hour programs brought to you by To the Best of Our Knowledge, the Peabody Award-winning public radio show about ideas."

Here’s some of what listeners will hear in Meet Your Mind:

• Part 1: Mind and Brain — tackles the mystery of how the physical “stuff,” the three pounds of wetware in our brains, produces mental experiences.
• Part 2: Memory and Forgetting — the science of memory and forgetting; how to build a memory palace and how to erase a thought.
• Part 3: Wiring the Brain — examines the connections between different parts of the brain, and how they shape our intuition, insight and analytical thinking.
• Part 4: The Creative Brain — what is creative genius? the neuroscience of jazz, art and other creative endeavors.
• Part 5: Extraordinary Minds — introduces you to savants and cyborgs and gives a glimpse of some new kinds of human potential.
• Part 6: Higher Consciousness — explores the spiritual dimensions of consciousness, from religious experience to contemplative practice.

Guests include:

• Neuroscientists: Richard Davidson, David Eagleman, Michael Gazzaniga, Eric Kandel, Christof Koch, Charles Limb, Oliver Sacks, Sebastian Seung and Jill Bolte Taylor;
• Psychiatrists and psychologists: Susan Blackmore, Stanislav Grof, Daniel Kahneman, Iain McGilchrist and Giulio Tononi;
• Philosophers: David Chalmers, Daniel Dennett, Ray Kurzweil and Alva Noe;
• Writers and musicians: Andre Aciman, Karen Armstrong, Lynda Barry, Joshua Foer, Vijay Iyer, Daniel Levitin, Sy Montgomery, Daniel Tammet and Alison Winter.

Full details, schedules, transcripts and audio — and lots of extras — are available HERE

ENJOY! Feel free to share a link to this post and leave a comment.

Related posts:

• The Consciousness Hypothesis (TBP)
• Ray Kurzweil: "How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed" | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR (TBP)

Teach kindness, compassion, and love

A friend who knows I am concerned about the problem of sexual assault in the military mentioned the following blog post to me, and I just wanted to pass it along:

The Only Girl Among Boys | Dear-boys-we-protect-those

Let's teach all our kids not to prey on, or physically hurt anyone. In a world of predators and prey, a sociopath will find a victim. Plenty of men have been victimized, too. Rape is not a gender issue as much as it is a power issue.

Unfortunately, lessons about kindness and compassion and love are hard to recall in combat. Remember that when we who have never held another human being in the sights of our weapon are tempted to pass judgement on the moral conundrums experienced by those who have, and lived.

H/T: HJ

The Nationals Park Beer Guide

Heading to the ballpark for a game and maybe a beer, a loaded hot dog, and some peanuts? Take a second to familiarize yourself with the beer offerings before you go. The Nationals Review has just published  The Nationals Park Beer Guide

I am a little partial to the Red Porch myself. Sure, you can get a Bud Light delivered to your seat, but a Dogfish Head 60 Minute? That's worth the walk!

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UPDATE! AS of July 20th, a NEW craft beer cart is available at Nats Park, featuring 4 local brewers!

	Washington Nationals (@Nationals)
7/19/13 5:49 PM New craft beer cart opens tomorrow behind section 139 at #Nats Park! Features beers from DC Brau, 3 Stars, Port City and Mad Fox