David Sussillo (on foster care and neuroscience)
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What is discussed at the start of this section?
Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert, Experts on Expert. I'm Dan Shepard. I'm joined by Lily Padman.
Hi.
Today we have David Cicillo. He is a neuroscientist, a technologist, and an author. But don't let that sway you. This isn't a tech heavy. No. This is a very personal story.
Correct. And a very moving one.
Incredibly moving one about really growing up in a lot of Public housing or boy homes and homes.
It's very connected to the episode we had on foster care.
Yes.
He mentions that a lot. He felt very seen by that episode.
How did David's childhood experiences shape his identity?
And this is kind of like that episode, a personal story.
Yes. Mixed with turning out to be a neuroscientist.
Yes.
He has a book out. It's a memoir. It's called Emergence, A Memoir of Boyhood Computation and the Mystery of Mind. It's quite an incredible story. I was riveted. It's very moving and touching. Please enjoy David Cicillo. this episode of armchair expert is presented by apple tv the new u.s home of formula one starting march 7th you can watch complete all-access live coverage of every grand prix including practice qualifying and sprints all in one place watch every race live only on apple tv he's an armchair expert
I just want to say, I watched that episode with Claudia Rao.
Oh, the foster care.
Yeah, with the foster care. What a great episode. Thank you. I'm so glad you watched that. Me too. Because that's going to come up. I felt so seen. I was like, you go, girl.
Oh, good.
No one had really just all put it in one place. I was like, wow. So props to you.
What challenges did David face in foster care?
Thank you. No, props to her. She is incredible. And we're so happy that we were helpful in telling that story.
Yeah, her two kind of novel things for me that blew my mind is one, that poverty looks a lot like neglect. Half the kids, by her account, are in there probably when they're just poor. So that's really troubling. That's really troubling. Yeah. I agree. And then what we know, yeah, about brain development and knowing we can't get the result we need with this system. Just acknowledging that. It's a great framing. It's simple, too. It's a very straightforward thing to say. This is pathological because X, Y, Z. Yeah. It almost can't get a different outcome. And if you do, it's going to be an anomaly. That's right. I'll eat you. So, David, where do you live normally? I live in the Bay Area. I live right near Stanford University.
How do you like it up there? How many years have you been there? I've been there since 2010. I moved out for a postdoc at Stanford University. My wife and I had been in New York City and Manhattan for the last 10 or 12 years, and she really didn't want to go. But we went out, and you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming.
We love it.
Yeah. First off, it's California. But, you know, it's a place that's filled with innovation, filled with smart people. You don't have to apologize to be a nerd. It's multicultural in its own sort of technical way. So I really like it there. So you and I are both children of 1975. I saw that. Yes, that's right. What month? March 26. You precede me by two and a half. I'm your elder, and I expect to be treated as well. You beat me on the height. How are you done with turning 50? I have to admit, it hasn't been great for me. Psychologically. Tell me. Well, just feeling like you see the end. I want to be measured here because I'm not 70. But for all of that, you know the fantasy you live in about life going on forever.
You can't have that at 50. There's something really, really troubling about knowing in the best case scenario, which I doubt I'll make it to 100, we're more than halfway there. That's right. That's a bummer. You were an adjunct professor. You're still an adjunct professor. I'm still an adjunct professor at Stanford. What is an adjunct professor? An adjunct professor just means you're affiliated with the university. It's a credential. So in my case, there's a dean or even a provost that had to actually sign off on it. But you're not a tenure line professor. So professors in today's academic world are largely leading research groups based off of money they get from the government through grants and also through private foundations.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is discussed at the start of this section?
0:00–0:40
2
How did David's childhood experiences shape his identity?
0:40–1:58
3
What challenges did David face in foster care?
1:58–28:53
4
How did video games play a role in David's life?
28:53–59:30
5
How does exercise contribute to mental well-being?
59:30–1:00:01
6
What challenges did David face during his academic journey?
1:00:01–1:00:21
7
What breakthroughs in AI relate to neuroscience?
1:00:21–1:00:45
8
How do personal experiences shape professional interests in neuroscience?
1:00:45–1:51:57