The Curious Human - What Does it Mean to Be Human?

Recorded August 28, 2019. A lecture by physicist Danielle Bassett
as part of the Trinity Long Room Hub 'What does it Mean to be Human
in the 21st Century?' lecture series. The human mind is curious. It
is strange, remarkable, and mystifying; it is eager, probing,
questioning. Despite its pervasiveness and its relevance for our
well-being, scientific studies of human curiosity that bridge both
the organ of curiosity and the object of curiosity remain in their
infancy. In this talk, I will integrate historical, philosophical,
and psychological perspectives with techniques from applied
mathematics and statistical physics to capture idiosyncratic forms
of curiosity that span multiple millennia, cultures, languages, and
timescales. In doing so, I will make a case for the position that a
science of the mind must account for minds today and those of
yesteryear. About Danielle Bassett Danielle Bassett is a physicist
using tools from network science and complex systems theory to
enhance our understanding of connectivity and organizational
principles in the human brain. Combining a strong background in
physics with training and collaborations in neuroscience, Bassett
adapts mathematical approaches associated with the study of complex
networks (such as computer or social networks) to analyze
interactions among neurons in different regions of the brain while
a person does certain activities (e.g., learn something new or try
to remember a face), thereby unraveling how these connections give
rise to the functions or jobs the brain performs. About the series
What does it Mean to be Human in the 21st Century? is a new
cross-disciplinary lecture series which will reflect on how we
understand ourselves, the world, and our place within it. The
lecture series is organised by the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and
Humanities Research Institute in partnership with The Dock,
Accenture’s global research & incubation hub in Dublin. This
new series will bring some prominent international academic and
industry voices to Trinity to discuss the human experience of today
and its future in the face of accelerated change brought about by
artificial intelligence and technology. A broad ranging series of
talks traversing the humanities, sciences, arts and social
sciences, join us in 2019 for an unmissable snapshot of human
progress; who we are, where we are, and where we’re going. Learn
more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/