Neon brain (dierk schaefer/flickr/CC-BY-2.0)
The "mind" and "self" were formerly the domain of philosophers and priests. But in this hour of Radiolab, neurologists lead the charge on profound questions like "How does the brain make me?"
We stare into the mirror with Dr. Julian Keenan, reflect on the illusion of selfhood with British neurologist Paul Broks, and contemplate the evolution of consciousness with Dr. V. S. Ramachandran. Also: the story of woman who one day woke up as a completely different person.
Looking into a mirror as a young child, Steven Johnson wondered, "How is that me?" We try to find that part of the brain that recognizes ones self with Montclair State University Professor Julian Keenan. Turns out: only half of your brain really knows who you are. Also, Independent radio producer Hannah Palin tells about her mother, who, after suffering an aneurism, woke up with a completely different personality. She looks the same, and has the same memories, but where did her old mother go? One possible answer: Vietnam. Later, Paul Broks continues the discussion on the fragility of the self.
We visit U.C. San Diego Neurologist, V.S.Ramachandran who tells us about the evolution of human consciousness…or the difference between the way we think of some abstraction, like love and the way a baboon thinks of a rear end. Something in the way our brain operates tells us about our ability to imagine and perceive ourselves. Paul Broks, author of Into the Silent Land, invites us into his childhood dreams, inhabited by tiny little men whom he had no control over. Robert Lewis Stevenson, famed spinner of dark tales, had his own little men in his head, that he exploited for fame and profit.
Robert Sapolsky, a Neuroscience Professor at Stanford University, relates how porous the boundary can be between two distinct selves, and how maybe this is a perfectly healthy phenomenon.
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Comments [14]
Finally decided to listen to the "Who am I" episode.. I'm about half way through and felt the need to share, that as a coma survivor and a victim of that 'one car crash away' from loosing yourself, this episode is amazing, comforting, and very thought provoking. I've struggled with the idea of myself for the last 10 years and its always fantastic to hear new ideas and conversations about the topic. As always, great job Radio Lab.
I just found out about Radiolab today and I love it! It makes me think and open my mind to whole new things. I listened to the cast entitled "Words" and fell in love. I've downloaded two pod casts and listen to them when I'm doing my homework tonight. Keep up the great work guys. oh yea, Thanks to my English teacher for introducing me to RadioLab!
Hello,
After listening to the story of Hannah's mother, i could help but be reminded of the story of Mark Hogancamp and his creation 'Marwencol'.
Wow, I didn't realize OPB radio was playing such old episodes of Radiolab. But a fascinating piece on Hannah's mother. It's interesting to consider how much of the dramatic change was the result of some aspects of her personality being re-set, via the shedding some of her inhibiting social conditioning and/or the re-wiring of parts of her brain. And how much was an independent process of coming to the realization that life is too fragile to get excessively mired in superficial minutia.
i don't know if any of you had the opportunity of reading 1Q84, the Haruki Murakami novel...
Well, i just want to say that now i know where the little people came from
i is you is we =)
I found the commentary by one of the neuroscientists a little irritating. He states that he doesn't believe the soul is immaterial then asks what it would look like if one found it. If it's immaterial (which is not synonymous with substance-less) it means it is not material thus cannot be experienced by the senses. It is beyond it.
I was very interested in the "little people" segment. Now I want to go to sleep and see if I too can trigger an amazing story.
Such an amazing documentary! Hannah Palin's account of her mother's story actually made me smile and cry and the same time...
Beautiful and informative. Love it.
How in the world can you guys do a program entitled "Who Am I?" without any mention of the concept of non-duality?
Although generally considered as belonging to the spiritual realm (Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, etc.), non-duality is a "singularity" or Void which many scientific explorers - of both the physical and psychological worlds - are increasingly finding themselves staring into, however reluctantly.
You dance to the edge of the precipice, revealing the notion of self (ego) as nothing more than a narrative, in essence, illusion perpetuated by memory. You even flirt with the well-worn analogy of becoming lost in the drama of a movie, which is clearly nothing more than a series of still frames (thoughts/mentations) strung together in time (memory) to give the illusion of substance or continuity (self).
But the movie, however captivating, only exists because of the screen the light is projected on, which remains prior, timeless, unchanged and unperturbed throughout. The screen is Awareness, and that Awareness (the "I am" that has no attributes) is ultimately the only irreducible answer to your question.
Of course, we cannot truly KNOW this true self in any intellectual sense, we can only BE it. Just as the eye ("I") has space enough to hold the entire world, and yet cannot see itself.
"The mind cannot know what is beyond the mind, but the mind is known by what is beyond it."
-Nisargadatta
I don't really like the description "The "mind" and "self" were formerly the domain of philosophers and priests." ... like if it was no more than science domain. Philosophy is a normative project and not a descriptive one like science... or even when it pretends to be descriptive, it is on an other level than science. (You cannot say Kant was an "old-school" psychologist. Why? Because he doesn't describe the mind itself but the necessity of certain mind capacities in order to tell for sure that we can deduce from seing object A hitting object B that A "causes" B.)
Your own show about emergence is anyway a sign that reductionnism is not necessarily the best epistemic theory (and even though you accept reductionnism, you cannot "reduce" a science and philosophy).
Totally Loved It!!!!!
hey guys! great work. i'm hooked.
i was wondering about the piece of music you play during the sleep podcast. i want it! what is it? i think you play a few, but this one is on for a while; it's very atmospheric. reminds me of waves. i love it.
I am at my college cafe library on the computer listening to "Who I am" for an exam tomorrow and I actually like it. it is very educational to listen to Radiolab about "Who am I" espisode 1. Thank to my professor for introduce me to Radiolab
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