cortex | November 21, 2007Earlier this week, the National Endowment for the Arts came out with a disturbing report:
Americans -- particularly young Americans -- appear to be reading less for fun, and as that happens, their reading test scores are declining. At the same time, performance in other academic disciplines like math and science is dipping for students whose access to books is limited, and employers are rating workers deficient in basic writing skills.
This report builds upon a 2004 NEA analysis that offered up a bleak assessment of the American reader. It turns out that reading, especially the reading of…
cortex | November 20, 2007Ouch. I got my first nasty review today. (For some nice reviews, check out the NY Times, LA Times, NY Post, Amazon, etc.) In Salon, Jonathan Keats takes issue with the basic premise of the book, which is that meaningful connections can be drawn between science and art:
Lehrer's book is worth discussing for this reason: It embodies an approach to the humanities and sciences that threatens the vitality of both. In his coda, Lehrer evokes C.P. Snow, whose 1959 book, "The Two Cultures," has become the standard reference in any discussion about the "mutual incomprehension" (as Snow phrased it)…
cortex | November 19, 2007The statistics are troubling:
Almost half of all cigarettes sold in the United States (44 percent) are consumed by people with mental illness. This is because so many people who have mental illnesses smoke (50 to 80 percent, compared with less than 20 percent of the general population) and because they smoke so many cigarettes a day -- often three packs. Furthermore, smokers with mental illness are much more likely to smoke their cigarettes right down to the filters.
Obviously, it's extremely important that we encourage people with mental illness to quit smoking. As this excellent op-ed by…
cortex | November 16, 2007In response to my call for science critics, a position analogous to a music critic or art critic except that they review the latest science papers, a commenter wrote the following:
"Why don't we have science critics?"
We do. It's called peer review.
My response is that peer review is necessary but not sufficient. (I've discussed the limitations of the peer review process before.) As every scientist knows, lots of crap gets published in journals. (In fact, it's possible that most published research findings are false. ) The job of a science critic, like all critics, would consist of two…
cortex | November 15, 2007Daniel Engber should become a full time science critic.* Over at Slate, he eviscerates the latest sloppy fMRI study of the political brain, which was published in the Times on Sunday:
To liken these neurological pundits to snake-oil salesmen would be far too generous. Their imaging study has not been published in any science journal, nor has it been vetted by experts in the field; it can't rightly be called an "experiment," since the authors weren't testing any particular hypothesis; and the arbitrary conclusions they draw from the data aren't even consistent with their own previous research…
cortex | November 15, 2007It's nice to be back home. I had a really wonderful time on the book tour, but it's nice to return to my boring routine. I'd like to thank everyone who came out to hear me talk. To be honest, I expected to be speaking to empty rooms. After all, why would anyone want to listen to me? So I was incredibly flattered and gratified by the crowds. My favorite part of the tour, without a doubt, were the questions from the audience. They were always thought-provoking, challenging, and insightful. I only wish I had better answers.
Photo by Lori Duff
cortex | November 13, 2007Sorry about the radio silence - it's been a hectic few days on tour. But I've had a really great time talking about science and art with everybody. If you're a citizen of Seattle, I'll be at Town Hall tonight...
In other news, I thought it's worth linking to the latest study on ADHD, which imaged the brains of thousands of children diagnosed with the disorder:
Researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health and McGill University, using imaging techniques, found that the brains of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder developed normally but more slowly in some areas…
cortex | November 9, 2007It's good to have Gladwell back. I've missed his writing these last few months. (To learn about his next book, check out Kottke.) His article this week was on the (pseudo)science that is criminal profiling:
In the case of Derrick Todd Lee, the Baton Rouge serial killer, the F.B.I. profile described the offender as a white male blue-collar worker, between twenty-five and thirty-five years old, who "wants to be seen as someone who is attractive and appealing to women." The profile went on, "However, his level of sophistication in interacting with women, especially women who are above him in the…
cortex | November 8, 2007Here's an embarassing story. I'm browsing a bookstore in San Francisco, killing a little time before a radio interview, and I can't help but wander over to the table with Proust Was A Neuroscientist on it. I'm actually paging through Exit Ghost, trying to decide if I really need more Roth on the prostate (apparently, I do) when a fellow browser picks up my book. I can't help but observe. I watch her flip through the pages before she looks at the back flap, which has my picture on it. Then she looks back at me and I'm staring right at her. She raises an eyebrow and I turn a crimson red before…
cortex | November 6, 2007The new epicurean trend has arrived: hydrocolloids:
Despite its imposing name, a hydrocolloid is a simple thing. A colloid is a suspension of particles within some substance. A hydrocolloid is a suspension of particles in water where the particles are molecules that bind to water and to one another. The particles slow the flow of the liquid or stop it entirely, solidifying into a gel.
Cornstarch used as a thickener is a hydrocolloid. So is plain flour. But the properties of hydrocolloids differ widely, depending on their molecular structure and affinity for water.
Today, Grant Achatz, chef of…
cortex | November 6, 2007In case you're interested, I should be on the Brian Lehrer show (no relation) on WNYC tomorrow morning (approximately 10:30ish) talking about (what else?) Proust and neuroscience. I'll also be signing books at the Barnes and Noble at 82nd and Broadway tomorrow evening at 7 PM.
cortex | November 5, 2007If I were a philosopher-king, the first thing I'd do is make Michael Pollan Secretary of Agriculture. Sometimes, he makes so much sense it actually hurts. In a Times op-ed yesterday, he assailed the latest version of the Farm Bill making their way through Congress. Although the bill contains essential money for food stamp programs, wetland restoration and local farms, Pollan rightly notes that these programs "are mere fleas on the elephant in the room":
The name of that elephant is the commodity title, the all-important subsidy section of the bill. It dictates the rules of the entire food…
cortex | November 5, 2007More housekeeping/self-promotion here, but there was plenty of book news this weekend. First, the NY Times ran a nice review of my book written by D.T. Max. (If you haven't read The Family That Couldn't Sleep, you're really missing out on a great science book.) Then the NY Post ran a very kind review. And then I've got an interview in The Toronto Star.
Q: Does your book show the gap between art and science or the link between art and science?
A: I hope my book tried to show they are ultimately bound, that in the end they can be two underlying descriptions of the same thing and neither has a…
cortex | November 5, 2007If you want to learn about umami, glutamate, veal stock and Auguste Escoffier, check out this story about Chapter 3 of my book on Morning Edition. It was a special thrill getting to do this with Robert Krulwich, who has long been one of my favorite science reporters.
cortex | November 5, 2007Here's W.H. Auden in The Dyer's Hand generalizing about our senses:
"The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar and is shocked by the unexpected; the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition."
Is Auden right? I think he nailed our acoustic cortex. (For more on that, check out my Stravinsky chapter in the book.) But I'm not sure our sense of sight is quite as restless as he would have us believe.
Thanks for the tip Steve!
cortex | November 2, 2007The rules of the wine tasting were simple. Twenty five of the best wines under twelve dollars were nominated by independent wine stores in the Boston area. The Globe then assembled a panel of wine professionals to select their top picks in the red and white category. All of the wines were tasted blind.
The result is a beguiling list of delicious plonk. But I was most interested in just how little overlap there was between the different critics. In fact, only one wine - the 2006 Willm Alsace Pinot Blanc from France - managed to make the list of every critic. Most of the wines were personal…
cortex | November 1, 2007For those who might be interested, I thought I'd post my book tour dates, since the tour officially kicks off today. Hope to see you there!
November 1, 7 PM, Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, NH
November 7, 7 PM, Barnes & Noble, 82nd Street and Broadway, NYC
November 8, 7:30 PM, Kepler's Books, Menlo Park, CA
November 10, 7 PM, Book Works, Del Mar, CA
November 12, 7 PM, Dutton's Bookstore, Brentwood, CA
November 13, 7:30 PM, Town Hall, Seattle
November 14, 7 PM, Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, MA
December 8, 7 PM, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester, VT
cortex | November 1, 2007The latest issue of Science has a special section devoted to decision-making. Alan Sanfey, best known for his influential study of the Ultimatum Game, has written a thorough review (available for free) about recent progress in the field. The takeaway lesson is that the experimental methods of neuroeconomics (Game Theory plus fMRI with a dash of electrophysiology) can help us better understand the neural source of our social decisions:
A common criticism of economic models is that observed decision behavior typically deviates, often quite substantially, from the models' predictions. Most…
cortex | October 31, 2007Our eighth graders might not understand basic scientific concepts, but America is still a beacon for the "stars" of science, at least according to a new analysis by two social scientists at UCLA:
America has 62 percent of the world's stars as residents, primarily because of its research universities which produce them.
Of course, there is nothing inevitable about this fact. Americans take it for granted that we're an aggregator of research talent, but that could quickly change. (Or has it already changed?) Unless we can find a way to improve science education (and fix our visa problems, so…
cortex | October 31, 2007Over at Mind Hacks, Vaughan has generously allowed me to answer a few of his excellent questions. Check it out.
Q: You seem to mostly focus on past artists but jokingly mentioned in a recent interview that maybe your next book will be called 'Kanye West was a neuroscientist'. Are there contemporary artists that you value as potentially inspiring progress in the brain sciences?
A: There are some obvious candidates, like Richard Powers and Ian McEwan, who have written wonderful novels about modern neuroscience. (See, for example, Galatea 2.2 or Saturday or The Echo Maker.) But I don't think it…