Steve Levitt

According to Eagleman, the brain is constantly trying to predict the world around it. But of course, the world is unpredictable and surprising, so the brain is constantly updating its model. The capacity of our brains to be ever-changing is usually referred to as plasticity, but Eagleman offers another term, live-wired. That's where our conversation begins.

According to Eagleman, the brain is constantly trying to predict the world around it. But of course, the world is unpredictable and surprising, so the brain is constantly updating its model. The capacity of our brains to be ever-changing is usually referred to as plasticity, but Eagleman offers another term, live-wired. That's where our conversation begins.

When I went to school, I feel like they taught me the brain was organized around things like senses and emotions, that there were these different parts of the brain that were good for those things. But you make the case that there's a very different organization of the brain.

When I went to school, I feel like they taught me the brain was organized around things like senses and emotions, that there were these different parts of the brain that were good for those things. But you make the case that there's a very different organization of the brain.

When I went to school, I feel like they taught me the brain was organized around things like senses and emotions, that there were these different parts of the brain that were good for those things. But you make the case that there's a very different organization of the brain.

So let me pose a question to listeners. Imagine you have a newborn baby and he or she looks absolutely flawless on the outside. But then upon examination, the doctors discover that half of his or her brain is just missing, a complete hemisphere of the brain. It's never developed. It's just empty space.

So let me pose a question to listeners. Imagine you have a newborn baby and he or she looks absolutely flawless on the outside. But then upon examination, the doctors discover that half of his or her brain is just missing, a complete hemisphere of the brain. It's never developed. It's just empty space.

So let me pose a question to listeners. Imagine you have a newborn baby and he or she looks absolutely flawless on the outside. But then upon examination, the doctors discover that half of his or her brain is just missing, a complete hemisphere of the brain. It's never developed. It's just empty space.

I would expect that would be a fatal defect, or best the child would be growing up profoundly mentally disabled.

I would expect that would be a fatal defect, or best the child would be growing up profoundly mentally disabled.

I would expect that would be a fatal defect, or best the child would be growing up profoundly mentally disabled.

So I first came to your work because I was so blown away by the idea of human echolocation. Yeah. only to discover that echolocation is only the tip of the iceberg. But could you talk just a bit about echolocation, how quickly, with training, it can start to substitute for sight?

So I first came to your work because I was so blown away by the idea of human echolocation. Yeah. only to discover that echolocation is only the tip of the iceberg. But could you talk just a bit about echolocation, how quickly, with training, it can start to substitute for sight?

So I first came to your work because I was so blown away by the idea of human echolocation. Yeah. only to discover that echolocation is only the tip of the iceberg. But could you talk just a bit about echolocation, how quickly, with training, it can start to substitute for sight?

And then in these studies, you put a blindfold on a person for two or three days and you try to teach them echolocation. If I understand correctly, even over that timescale, the echolocation starts taking over the visual part of the brain. Is that a fair assessment?

And then in these studies, you put a blindfold on a person for two or three days and you try to teach them echolocation. If I understand correctly, even over that timescale, the echolocation starts taking over the visual part of the brain. Is that a fair assessment?

And then in these studies, you put a blindfold on a person for two or three days and you try to teach them echolocation. If I understand correctly, even over that timescale, the echolocation starts taking over the visual part of the brain. Is that a fair assessment?

So in your book, you talk about REM sleep. And honestly, if I had sat down and tried to come up with an explanation of REM sleep, I could have listed a thousand ideas. Your pet theory would not be one of them. So explain what REM sleep is and then tell me why you think we do it.

So in your book, you talk about REM sleep. And honestly, if I had sat down and tried to come up with an explanation of REM sleep, I could have listed a thousand ideas. Your pet theory would not be one of them. So explain what REM sleep is and then tell me why you think we do it.

So in your book, you talk about REM sleep. And honestly, if I had sat down and tried to come up with an explanation of REM sleep, I could have listed a thousand ideas. Your pet theory would not be one of them. So explain what REM sleep is and then tell me why you think we do it.