Author: jlolds

Native Angeleno, professor of Neuroscience and Public Policy at George Mason University

Thoughts on an academic year passing

Well….it's about a month till commencement. I can tell without looking
at the calendar, because when one walks around campus, the students are
creating “beaches” out of the lawns between the dorms, music blares
forth–except of course when it doesn't, everyone has white ear plugs
dangling, and my colleagues and I are engaged in a frenzy of end-of-the
semester rituals: preparing grades, grant applications and finalizing
hires for the next academic year.

This has been a very satisfying first year of my second term as
Institute director. We've continued our growth and for the first time in
my tenure, I feel as if there are very significant scientific
discoveries right around the corner (both in time and in space). Partly
this has come about from building a real critical mass of scientists
who, while in disparate fields, are willing to collaborate (which
involves a lot of listening and dropping of jargon). From those
trans-disciplinary conversations and subsequent collaborations comes the
low-hanging fruit–and hence truly significant discoveries.

It is impossible of course to predict the details of what progress lies
ahead–the trajectory of science is inscrutable. But having spent a
life-time among scientists who think about “mind”, my intuition is that
Krasnow will soon be associated with paradigm change. I base this on my
interactions with the faculty and trainees, reading the many grant
proposals and manuscripts (in progress) and the general buzz that seems
to permeate this place.

Jim

The Minerva Consortium

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is proposing a new Minerva Consortium which would carry out academic social sciences research connected up with national security.

Money quote from the Chronicle:

Among the group’s tasks could be predicting the likely evolution of jihadist extremism

Scientists gone wild

According to a survey taken by Nature, 20% of scientists admit to using cognitive enhancing drugs. Hmmm.

As a neuroscientist I’d be a bit concerned about what the label “cognitive enhancer” really means. Would you want your air traffic controller to be using these drugs? What about your surgeon?

On the other hand, I wouldn’t think about starting the day without my caffeine jolt.

Jim

Tea on the Institute Mezzanine

This past Monday we moved our 3:30PM pre-seminar tea out onto the beautiful Institute mezzanine and it drew a wonderful crowd of folks who spent the time talking about complexity, neuroscience, consciousness and all the other deep questions that go with tea and cookies in the half hour before we dive into the serious business of our weekly seminar.

Harold Morowitz, the founding director of the Institute once said that everyone should spend 5% of their time on the fringe of the paradigm (at least at an institute for advanced study). Part of the way we can accomplish that is by talking science over tea with an institute colleague whose disciplinary expertise is very different from our own.

I think we’ll continue to have those teas out on the mezzanine—with the institute woods greening up by the day–it’ll be a conducive environment for science at the fringe of the paradigm.

Jim

Neuroscience meets modern dance

Regular readers know how much I enjoy the Saturday Financial Times. Here’s an interesting article on how the Royal Ballet’s new resident choreographer is using neuroscience as inspiration.

Key quote:

The result, performed by his Random Dance company, which he founded at the age of 22, is a dance that will “look at the body from inside out”. McGregor has worked with 12 neuroscientists from around the world to examine the nature of kinaesthetic intelligence, producing a series of computerised “choreographic agents” from which he has drawn inspiration for the stage.

Jim

Who should use slides?

Several years ago I was on on Capitol Hill sharing the podium with a high NIH official and a Congressman speaking about science policy to a lay audience of constituents, stakeholders and decision-makers.

They didn’t use slides, I did. The projector failed fairly spectacularly. They were fine, I wasn’t.

Who should use slides and who shouldn’t and under what circumstances?

Jim

The Chronicle on College Presidents

My great-grandfather was one–George D. Olds was President of Amherst College during the mid-1920’s. So it is with interest that I read this essay by Stephen J. Nelson on what modern college presidents should do:

Presidents can respond by acting as architects of a middle ground, shaping a center that is able to hold.

Nelson argues that if they don’t, it’s at their peril. And that modern technology only magnifies the risks.

Jim