 |
The Lavin Agency is a speakers bureau, based in New York City and Toronto. We exclusively represent leading thinkers, writers, and doers who inspire ideas and dialogue that make the world a better place. |
-
Video
3
NotesHere’s neuroscience speaker and bestselling author Steven Pinker discussing taboos, political correctness and dissent.
-
Quote
1
Notes"Thought for the day: A good idea not turned into action stays confined to the tiny, poor neurons that spend all their energy on it."Neuroscience speaker David Eagleman, from his Facebook page.
-
Quote
26
Notes"Countless ingenuities have been sparked by taking baths or drinking beer, or both…It’s important to escape the white noise in our world, to step back and let the big picture wash over us. There’s no excuse for not putting the work in. However, it’s just as crucial that we make time to waste time."Neuroscientist, author and Lavin speaker Jonah Lehrer, speaking at the University of California Santa Barbara’s “Innovation Matters” Series.
-
Photo
29
Notes
David Eagleman, Lavin speaker and author of Incognito, will unveil an exciting new talk, entitled “The Science of Hatred and Dehumanization”, at Intelligence Squared in London on May 24th. Here’s the official talk description:
Which side were you on? The Jets or the Sharks? The Capulets or the Montagues? The Greeks or the Trojans? Antony or Caesar? William or Harold? And so the list goes on…Indeed, maybe the whole of human history is the story of group-making and group-breaking. The passions of loyalty and love for the in-group are matched by the de-humanising indignation and hatred for the out-group.
But what’s actually going on in the chemical soup of the brain when Agamemnon gathers his heros-to-be and sets sail after Helen? Will peering into that soup – as neuroscientist David Eagleman is now doing – actually give peace a chance? Maybe utopia can come out of the lab. Will a scientific understanding of love and hate deliver social programmes that undermine the nastiness without sacrificing the good?Photo courtesy of Christine ™
-
Quote
7
Notes"An individual brain reflects its culture. Our opinions on normality, custom, dress codes and local superstitions are absorbed into our neural circuitry from the social forest around us."Lavin speaker David Eagleman, in a Guardian UK debate on the virtues of studying neuroscience.
-
Video
1
NotesDavid Eagleman’s study of human time perception has inspired a post on MSNBC around why people are so fascinated by slow motion video. One reason—Eagleman offers a total of three here—is that it unmasks things we’d never normally see. Just check out the video above for some good examples of what you’re missing.
-
Video
1
NotesJonah Lehrer’s new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, is out today! It’s about “our most important mental talent: the ability to imagine what has never existed before.”
-
Quote
7
Notes"Creativity is not magic, and there’s no such thing as a creative type. Creativity is not a trait that we inherit in our genes or a blessing bestowed by the angels. It’s a skill. Anyone can learn to be creative and to get better at it."Jonah Lehrer, author of Imagine: How Creativity Works, in a recent essay for The Wall Street Journal.
-
Quote
149
Notes"We open our eyes and we think we’re seeing the whole world out there. But what has become clear—and really just in the last few centuries—is that when you look at the electro-magnetic spectrum we are seeing less than 1/10 Billionth of the information that’s riding on there. So we call that visible light. But everything else passing through our bodies is completely invisible to us."Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman, in recent interview with Lifehacker.
-
Video
2
NotesOn Wired’s website today, neuroscience speaker Jonah Lehrer interviewed Charles Fernyhough, whose new novel, A Box of Birds, “explicitly attempts to explore the impact of neuroscience on our self-conception.” The cross-pollination of fiction and science has been a recurring theme in Jonah’s work. In this video, he spoke with the Lavin Agency about how the Modernist writers actually anticipated neuroscience.
