In this podcast philosopher Perry Zurn discusses ‘Curious Minds’, the book he wrote with his twin Danni Bassett. We talk about their unusual upbinging, home schooled in a large family that encouraged curiosity, then negotiating the more restrictive world of academia. They view curiosity as ‘edgework’, an exploration of connections between ‘nodes’ of information. We discuss ‘busybodies’,’ hunters’ and ‘dancers’. three curious behaviours they identified, and research evidence that supports them. The effect of language on curiosity gets a mention (Eg differences between First Nation and modern languages), and how curiosity plays out in non-verbal domains (such a sport and visual art) with a diversion into the role of the hippocampus in remembering both physical and conceptual space (such as between related words). After an appreciation of Virginia Woolf, we touch on possible dangers of curiosity, such as supporting the idea of alternative realities and the fake news that builds them, before talking about curious animals.

Participants:

Perry Zane is Visiting Associate Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Cornell University and Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University

https://www.perryzurn.com/projects

Ken Barrett visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The book discussed:

https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Minds-Connection-Perry-Zurn/dp/0262047039

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective

Sketch by KB.

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This is part 2 of the conversation with Russell Kilbourn on memory and movies. In part 1 we talked about the way memory is treated in literature and movies but we didn't have time to discuss memory in sci-fi movies so Russ agreed to return. In this podcast we discuss the varying treatment of memory in the genre. Eg: removing memories (Total Recall, Severance and particularly Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind); inserting false memories (Blade Runner); repurposing memories (Strange Days, and particularly Solaris and La Jetee). La Jetée led to an interesting discussion about the strange and interesting Canadian film My Winnipeg. We close by returning to literature, in the science fiction genre.

Participants:

Russell J Kilbourn is Professor of Literature and Film, Dept of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada. http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Sci fi movies discussed (Russ's 'must sees' in bold):

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) and BR 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)

Oblivion (Joseph Kosinski, 2013)

2046 (Kar-wai Wong, 2004) (lost memories)

After Life (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998)

Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)

Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011)

Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)

Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)

Upstream Color (Shane Carruth, 2013)

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: #brainlandcollective

Sketch by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast Veronica O'Keane and Ken Barrett share cases and discuss some of the themes explored in Veronica's book 'A Sense of Self'. We explore the various structures in the brain essential for memory to function, talk about the importance of place to memory (we often remember where we where if not when) and recent findings on how our brain does that, the role of the frontal lobes and the hidden area of cortext called the insula, before with interesting detours into nostalgia and memory in the work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett.

Veronica O' Keane, Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin.

Ken Barrett, artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Veronica's book 'A Sense of Self: Memory, the brain and who we are': https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324021834

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: @brainlandcollective

Sketch by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.