David Eagleman, "The Secret Lives of the Brain" @ Harvard Book Store
Details
From the Harvard Book Store Website:
http://www.harvard.com/event/david_eagleman/
"Harvard Book Store is delighted to welcome renowned neuroscientist DAVID EAGLEMAN for a conversation about his newest exploration of brain shttp://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/1/a/9/event_27505001.jpegcience, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain.
"In Incognito, David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate surprising mysteries: Why can your foot move halfway to the brake pedal before you become consciously aware of danger ahead? Why do you hear your name being mentioned in a conversation that you didn’t think you were listening to? What do Ulysses and the credit crunch have in common? Why did Thomas Edison electrocute an elephant in 1916? Why are people whose names begin with J more likely to marry other people whose names begin with J? Why is it so difficult to keep a secret? And how is it possible to get angry at yourself—who, exactly, is mad at whom?
"Taking in brain damage, plane spotting, dating, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence, and visual illusions, Incognito is a subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.
"Incognito is...intended to explain [Eagleman's] day job to a general reader—and as such, it is a shining example of lucid and easy-to-grasp science writing. Which isn't to say that it is reductionist, nor that there's no space for poetic phrasing. Nor does Eagleman feel bound by his field. Neuroscience is at a stage, he argues, where it can weigh in on age-old philosophical debates.... It's a book about the things it is impossible to think about, and others that it is no longer possible not to." —The Independent (UK)"
Where to Meet:
T.J. Maher will be at lower level of the food court in The Garage in Harvard Square on 36 JFK Street http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-garage-cambridge , from 5:45 pm to 6:25 pm. We can commandeer tables and push them together as people arrive. A red MEETUP sign will be placed on the table, and a person suspiciously looking exactly like T.J. will be sitting next to it. We can take off at 6:30 pm, and walk to the Harvard Book Store, grabbing seats together at 6:35 pm. It quickly becomes standing room only after that, since there are not many chairs placed out.
T.J. is 5 foot 7, with short brown hair, blue eyes, a "Hello, My Name is T.J." namtag, and a red MEETUP sign attached to his black messenger bag.
Please mention if you are a YES or a MAYBE so T.J. can gauge how many people are coming, and if you are joining him in the food court so he can place tables together.
From David Eagleman's Website:
"David Eagleman is a neuroscientist and a writer. He directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action (http://www.eaglemanlab.net/) and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law (http://www.neulaw.org/) at Baylor College of Medicine. He is best known for his work on time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw. At night he writes. His work of fiction, SUM (http://www.eagleman.com/sum), is an international bestseller published in 23 languages. His book on the internet and civilization, Why the Net Matters (http://www.eagleman.com/netmatters), is available as an app for the iPad (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/why-net-matters-how-internet/id406319375?mt=8) and as an eBook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004V9O5GQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=eaglemancom&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B004V9O5GQ). His latest book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain (http://www.eagleman.com/incognito), explores the neuroscience "under the hood" of the conscious mind--that is, all the aspects of neural function to which we have no awareness or access. Eagleman is a Guggenheim Fellow".
About the Harvard Book Store:
http://www.harvard.com/about/hbs_in_brief/
"Harvard Book Store is an independently run bookstore serving the greater Cambridge area. The bookstore is located in Harvard Square and has been family-owned since 1932. We are known for our extraordinary selection of new, used, and bargain books and for a history of innovation. In 2009, we introduced same-day environmentally-friendly bike delivery and a book-making robot capable of printing and binding any of millions of titles in minutes".