Eagleman Blog

A note about head shape in mummies

A few months ago I scanned a 3,000 mummy. What can (and can't) be concluded based on his perspicuously elongated skull shape, known as dolicocephy (elongated head)?

Discovering amulets inside the mummy

I recently posted about my scanning of a 3,000 year old mummy, Neskhons. Now, by analyzing the data in several different ranges of electron density, I've found something unexpected: inside the mummy's torso are 4 small funerary amulets.

Scanning a 3,000 year old mummy

I recently performed a CT scan on Neskhons, an Egyptian mummy who I brought to our scanning facilities at Baylor College of Medicine.

From the Blog

Profile in The New Yorker

I had the pleasure of being profiled by my favorite magazine, The New Yorker. Read the article here.
My favorite New Yorker cartoon. Ever.

I'm a sucker for time jokes.
The Mystery of Expertise

To the extent that consciousness is useful, it is useful in small quantities, and for very particular kinds of tasks. It's easy to understand why you would not want to be consciously aware of the intricacies of your muscle movement, but this can be less intuitive when applied to your perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs, which are also final products of…
After Sandy Hook: Why mental illness matters

The shootings at Sandy Hook sparked debate ranging from gun control to bulletproof windows. But the most fruitful approach may be to prioritize our discussion of mental illness.