Why do groups of people inflict violence on unarmed neighbors? (Germany, Rwanda, Darfur, Nanking....). Here's the neuroscience point of view.
In the wake of the Aurora movie theater shooting, many people had the same questions: What kind of derangement is indicated by the horrific acts of James Holmes? What is wrong with his brain? How will his mental state play out in the courts?
School shootings spark debate ranging from gun control to bulletproof windows. But the most fruitful approach may be to prioritize our discussion of mental illness.
Interested in the intersection of the brain and the legal system? Watch a talk I delivered at the Royal Society for the Arts in London, entitled "The Brain and the Law".
To liberalise or prohibit? I joined Eliot Spitzer, Julian Assange, Vicente Fox, Russell Brand, Richard Branson and several others for an online debate.
What could explain Anders Breivik's shooting attack in Oslo, Norway? While this was being debated from the angles of politics, religion, and sociology, I wanted to ask this from the viewpoint of neurobiology.
From the Blog
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Discovering amulets inside the mummy
I posted before 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.
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Scanning a 3,000 year old mummy
I performed a CT scan on an Egyptian mummy, and found beautiful objects inside.
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Six Easy Steps to Avert the Collapse of Civilization
Watch a talk I gave at the Long Now Foundation about my hopes that the advent of the internet will mitigate threats that brought down previous civilizations.
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My favorite New Yorker cartoon. Ever.
I'm a sucker for time jokes.
In other news...
The secret life of the lab
Want to know more about the inner workings of a neuroscience lab? Watch a video profile of David and his students on NOVA Science Now.
SUM at the Royal Opera House
SUM has been turned into an opera at the Royal Opera House in London (Composer: Max Richter, Director: Wayne McGregor). The London Evening Standard hails the opera as "immersive, meditative and sweetly fascinating". Read about the background of the collaboration in Wired.
Possibilianism at PopTech
Click here to watch David's talk on possibilianism at PopTech. Executive director Andrew Zolli wrote: "This is one of the best talks ever at PopTech. Everyone should watch this."
