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Quote by Edward Boyden

“If our brain is understanding some parts of the universe and not understanding other parts, and those understandings are about the laws of physics that our brains are built on top of, then it's kind of a loop, right?”

Quote by Edward Boyden

Author

Edward Boyden is a renowned neuroscientist born on August 18, 1979. He has made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience, particularly in the areas of optogenetics and neural circuit engineering. Professor Boyden holds a faculty position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is dedicated to exploring how the brain works and how to enhance brain function through technological means. more

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“Suppose there are some things that we don't understand about the universe, but if you understand human intelligence and you understand the gaps in our abilities to think about things, maybe we can engineer in a computer more advanced intelligences that can help augment our ability to think.”

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Author:Edward Boyden

“There are many things that we still don't understand about the universe, right? Einstein struggled to bring quantum mechanics and gravity together and never succeeded, and that's a problem that to this day is not well understood. Well, maybe to comprehend some of these things, we need to augment our intelligence. If we do, who knows?”

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“Maybe we'll understand more about how the universe came to be, and what forces drove it in the early days and which forces drive it now.”

Author:Edward Boyden

“The brain is really hard to see. The whole thing is very large - the human brain is several pounds in weight - but the connections between brain cells, known as synapses, are really tiny. They're nanoscale in dimension. So if you want to see how the cells of the brain are connected in networks, you have to see those connections, those synapses.”

Ifs Want Humans Hard Whole Brain Known Connections Weight Connected Tiny Cells Dimensions Pounds Human Brain Brain Cells Synapses

Author:Edward Boyden

“If you could map out a human brain, an open question is, if you simulated it, would it be you? Now, as we discussed earlier, we don't have a great definition or even a good technological handle to know whether something is conscious or not just by looking at it, so there's that aspect that we're not ready to answer, I would argue. But it raises very interesting questions about the nature of identity.”

Ifs Knows Humans Answers Interesting Brain Identity Ready Conscious Aspect Raises Definitions Arguing Handle Maps Be You Technological Very Interesting Not Ready Human Brain

Author:Edward Boyden

“Work backward from your goal.”

Author:Edward Boyden

“If you think backwards from a big problem, and you talk to all these other people who have skills and who think forward from their skills, it's very easy to form collaborations because everyone is incentivized to work together.”

People Ifs Thinking Problem Bigs Together Form Easy Skills Working Together Collaboration Backwards Big Problems

Author:Edward Boyden

“The skill-providers want to have more impact and solve problems; the problem people want new tools to get their problems solved.”

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Author:Edward Boyden

“When I'm talking to somebody, I'll put a piece of paper on the table and I'll write what I call a conversation summary - notes about the conversation on the piece of paper. At the end of the conversation, I'll take a picture on my phone and give the other person the original piece of paper.”

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Author:Edward Boyden

“Many of the projects that we do that appear quite successful, it's actually often the second or third time we've given it a try.”

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Author:Edward Boyden