David Eagleman: A Brainy Approach to Innovation [Entire Talk]

TL;DR

The brain may function as a general computational device that learns to interpret information delivered through many kinds of sensory receptors. David Eagleman demonstrates a vest that converts sound into vibrations on the torso, enabling deaf users to understand speech patterns and potentially helping other users develop new senses for data such as weather, factory activity, drone information, or stock markets.

Transcript

• I want to start out with a question for you about the role of science fiction in science. - Yeah, okay, good question. First of all, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. So I just mentioned to you earlier, on Friday I became the scientific advisor for West World, the HBO show. Does anyone watch West World here? Okay. So that ... Read More

Key Insights

• Science and science fiction overlap when researchers imagine possibilities beyond current knowledge and then attempt to build bridges back to established evidence. Eagleman describes productive science as involving initially unsupported leaps followed by careful investigation of which imagined possibilities might actually be true.
• The brain is presented as a general computational device that can learn to interpret inputs from different peripheral receptors. Eagleman supports this hypothesis by pointing to the diverse sensory equipment found across animals, including heat pits, magnetite-based orientation, electroreception, and specialized touch structures.
• The sensory vest converts captured sound into spatial patterns of vibration on the torso. Eagleman compares this substitution to Braille, where information entering through a fingertip can convey a novel that produces emotional responses despite bypassing the sensory channel normally associated with reading.
• Deaf users can learn about speech through tactile patterns paired with visible lip movements and their own vocalizations. Feeling the vibrations generated by their speech provides feedback comparable to how a hearing baby babbles, listens to its own sounds, and gradually learns to speak.
• The vest is described as a potential noninvasive alternative for severe or profound deafness. Eagleman states that 53 million people have this degree of deafness, that the vest could cost under $1,000, and that a cochlear implant costs $100,000 and requires invasive surgery.
• Sensory addition involves delivering information that humans do not normally perceive through a learnable tactile channel. Eagleman's experiments use streams involving drones, factories, stock markets, weather, and Twitter to investigate whether repeated bodily patterns can become an entirely new kind of sense.
• Human perception is constrained by the biological receptors available to the body. Eagleman notes that visible color occupies less than a ten trillionth of the electromagnetic spectrum, while cosmic rays, X-rays, gamma rays, and cell phone conversations remain outside ordinary human experience.
• Compass-belt training may strengthen sensitivity to faint directional information already present in the brain. Eagleman cites the North Paw, which vibrates to indicate north, and reports that users remain better at identifying north after removing it, suggesting a possible underlying signal whose source remains uncertain.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can the brain learn to interpret a new sense?

The brain can potentially learn a new sense when information is repeatedly translated into consistent patterns delivered through an available channel, such as touch. Eagleman's vest captures sound and converts it into vibrations across the torso. Users associate those patterns with speech, lip movements, vocal feedback, or environmental events until the tactile input becomes meaningful rather than feeling like unrelated vibrations.

Q: How does David Eagleman's sensory vest work?

The vest captures sound while a person speaks and translates that sound into patterns produced by vibratory motors positioned on the torso. A wearer feels the changing patterns through the skin. Deaf users can connect them with visible lip movements and speech, while Eagleman's laboratory also feeds other information streams through the vest to investigate sensory addition beyond sound substitution.

Q: How can tactile feedback help deaf people learn speech?

Tactile feedback lets deaf users feel patterns corresponding to spoken sounds. They can watch another person's lips while feeling those patterns, then vocalize and feel the vibrations created by their own speech. Eagleman compares this feedback process to a baby babbling and hearing its own voice, because both processes connect an attempted vocal action with immediate sensory information.

Q: What is sensory substitution in Eagleman's research?

Sensory substitution is the delivery of information normally associated with one sense through a different sensory channel. In Eagleman's example, sound that would ordinarily enter through the inner ear and cochlea is converted into vibration on the torso. The idea resembles Braille, where language and emotional meaning are understood through patterns entering the brain from the fingertip rather than through vision.

Q: What is sensory addition, and what data can it use?

Sensory addition is the attempt to give a person access to information that is not part of ordinary human perception. Eagleman's team delivers unfamiliar data to the body through patterns of vibration and tests whether the brain can develop a new sense for it. The information streams mentioned include drones, factories, stock markets, weather, and Twitter data.

Q: Why does Eagleman say human perception is limited?

Human perception is limited because it depends on the biological receptors available to the body. People experience visible color, for example, while most electromagnetic radiation remains inaccessible. Eagleman says visible light is less than a ten trillionth of the electromagnetic spectrum, and he notes that cosmic rays, X-rays, gamma rays, and cell phone conversations are ordinarily invisible to humans.

Q: What does the North Paw compass experiment suggest?

The North Paw is a compass connected to a vibrating belt that indicates where north is. People become skilled at identifying north while wearing it, but they also remain better at doing so after removing the belt. Eagleman interprets this as evidence that the brain may already receive a faint directional signal, possibly involving magnetite, although he stresses that the explanation is not established.

Q: How do science fiction and scientific innovation overlap?

Science fiction and scientific innovation overlap by allowing people to imagine developments beyond existing technology while remaining rooted in current knowledge. Eagleman says Westworld thinks roughly 30 years ahead and asks how a brain might be built after silicon and the next technology. Science similarly generates possibilities through bold conceptual leaps, then investigates whether bridges can be built back to what is already known.

Summary

In this video, a scientist discusses the role of science fiction in science and how they overlap in generating possibilities and exploring new ideas. They also delve into the topic of sensors in the body and the potential for building new peripherals to feed information into the brain. The scientist showcases a vest that captures sound and translates it into patterns of vibration on the body, allowing deaf people to "hear" through vibrations. They also explore the potential for developing new senses by feeding different types of information into the body. The discussion then moves towards questions about the differences between senses and the potential for reading and controlling the brain using new technologies. The scientist also talks about their journey from academic research to entrepreneurship, starting multiple companies based on their scientific work. The discussion ends with exploration of the intersection between neuroscience and the legal system, and how understanding the brain can influence criminal justice practices.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the relationship between science fiction and science?

Science fiction and science overlap in the exploration of possibilities and the generation of new ideas. Science fiction often takes existing scientific knowledge and pushes it further to imagine what could be possible in the future. Science, on the other hand, seeks to make those leaps and explore the feasibility of these ideas through research and experimentation.

Q: How do sensors in our body and the brain process information?

The scientist believes that the brain is a general computational device and the sensors in our body, such as those for electromagnetic radiation, air compression waves, and molecules in the air, are plug-and-play receptors. The brain can process and make sense of any information input it receives, regardless of the type of sensor. In the animal kingdom, there are many examples of unique peripheral devices that animals use for sensory purposes. The scientist's lab has even built a vest that captures sound and translates it into patterns of vibration on the body, allowing deaf people to "hear" through vibrations.

Q: Are there senses that we haven't yet characterized?

While there is no conclusive evidence yet, some research suggests that humans may have a sense of direction similar to the sense of north in animals like birds. There is also ongoing exploration into whether humans can develop new senses through the integration of external sensory input. For example, by feeding information about stock market data, weather data, or even Twitter data into the body, individuals without sensory impairment can potentially develop a completely new kind of sense, a "sixth sense".

Q: Does the sound captured by the vest feel like an echo?

The sound captured by the vest and translated into patterns of vibration on the body does have some similarities to hearing an echo. When a baby learns to speak, they babble and hear their own voice through their ears. Similarly, wearing the vest creates a similar experience where individuals feel their own speech through the patterns of vibration on their torso. However, humans are capable of canceling out their own speech and not paying attention to it, much like how individuals who are not deaf do not pay attention to their own voice.

Q: Are there senses that feel completely different from each other?

Despite the differences in how different senses feel to humans, the scientist speculates that the structure of the data coming into the brain is what causes this perceived differentiation. Vision, for example, involves two-dimensional sheets of data, while hearing and touch involve different types of signals. The scientist's hypothesis is that when new kinds of signals are fed into the brain, like stock market data, individuals may experience a completely new kind of sense that does not fit into existing senses like vision or touch.

Q: Can we read other people's minds through neural inputs?

While there has been research on using brain imaging to try to understand what someone is experiencing or thinking, the current technology is limited. For example, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide a distorted picture of what someone is seeing based on neural activity, but this is mostly limited to visual cortex activity. The idea of reading someone's mind in terms of their thoughts or emotions is far more complex and difficult to achieve given the current understanding of the brain and the limitations of brain imaging technology.

Q: Can the brain be used for actuation as well as receiving sensory input?

The scientist believes it is possible to use tools and technologies to control motor output through the brain. However, current methods like electroencephalography (EEG) have limitations in terms of the information they can gather. To truly achieve advanced actuation through the brain, better methods will need to be developed to measure individual neurons in real-time and on a large scale. The scientist also speculates on the possibility of detaching artificial limbs from the body but still being able to control them using brain signals.

Q: How do you balance being a scientist and an entrepreneur?

The scientist initially focused on academic research and published numerous publications but realized that only a few people read them. They shifted their focus toward making a tangible impact on the world and started exploring entrepreneurship. They express the importance of finding a balance between staying true to scientific accuracy and making science accessible to the public. The scientist mentions that their books and TV show are entertaining but grounded in scientific evidence. They believe that staying on this middle road is not challenging as long as one is cautious about accuracy and references their claims appropriately.

Q: What are the biggest mysteries in neuroscience?

The scientist acknowledges that although we have considerable knowledge about the brain, there are still many mysteries to be solved. They outline a few specific mysteries, such as understanding consciousness and why we have subjective experiences. The scientist also mentions the mysteries of sleep and dreams, intelligence, and many others. They emphasize that although significant advancements have been made, neuroscience still has a vast amount of uncharted territory and unknowns to explore.

Q: How do you prevent misinformation and misconceptions when communicating science?

The scientist highlights the importance of providing accurate information and references when communicating scientific ideas. They mention that in their books, they provide extensive references to scientific literature to back up their claims. The scientist also teaches a class on public communication of neuroscience in which they emphasize the need for accurate, evidence-based communication. They consider it essential to stay on a middle road that is both accessible to the public and grounded in scientific validity.

Takeaways

Science fiction and science often overlap in exploring possibilities and generating new ideas. The brain is capable of processing different types of sensory input, and there is potential for building new peripherals to expand human sensory capabilities. The mysteries of consciousness, sleep, dreams, and intelligence remain significant areas of exploration in neuroscience. The scientist has transitioned from academic research to entrepreneurship in order to have a more significant impact on the world. They emphasize the importance of finding a balance between accurate scientific communication and making science accessible to the public. Additionally, they are working on various entrepreneurial endeavors, including a company that aims to improve understanding of the brain in the legal system.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• David Eagleman argues that science and science fiction overlap when both generate possibilities beyond current knowledge and then seek connections back to established science. His advisory work on Westworld prompted him to consider how imagining technologies decades ahead can support the leaps required for scientific exploration, invention, and the construction of testable ideas.

• Eagleman proposes that biological sensors operate like interchangeable peripheral devices connected to a flexible brain. Animals demonstrate this variety through heat detection, magnetic alignment, electroreception, and specialized touch. His laboratory therefore investigates whether engineered devices can deliver unfamiliar information streams through the body and allow the human brain to interpret them meaningfully.

• A wearable vest translates captured sound into patterns of vibration across the torso. Deaf users can learn to understand sound and support speech production by connecting lip movements, vocalization, and tactile feedback. Eagleman also explores sensory addition, feeding information about drones, factories, markets, weather, and Twitter into the body to test whether new senses can develop.