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Unpopular Neuroscience

Unpopular Neuroscience

By: Patrick D. Watson
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 Neuroscientists Katie McAllister and Patrick Watson discuss the nervous system, scrutinize pop neuroscience, and attempt to understand why—despite millions of published articles and advances in artificial intelligence—everyone still seems to think the brain is a mysterious organ.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. Biological Sciences Philosophy Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • I, Robot.

    I, Robot.
    Sep 29 2025

    Large attentional transformers like ChatGPT generate text that seems surprisingly human-like. On this episode Katie and Patrick ask which bits of the brain work like large language models, which bits AI still hasn't figured out, and whether the difference can explain why robots can't count the vowels in a strawberry.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Lots of People in Your Head

    Lots of People in Your Head
    Aug 25 2025

    Neuroscientists don't believe in Artificial General Intelligence because they don't believe in General Intelligence. Instead they think the brain has multiple, specialized systems that work together to solve complex problems–more like a swarm of bees than a philosopher king. On this episode Katie and Patrick talk about the hive of brain systems living in your head and why this makes biological intelligence so robust and effective.
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    56 mins
  • Consciousness, Man.

    Consciousness, Man.
    Jun 23 2025

    What is consciousness?

    To the general public it's one of the most profound and enduring mysteries of the human psyche. To specialists it's something we don't worry about much. In this episode, Katie and Patrick explore the semantic gap between broad popular conceptions of consciousness and narrower understanding held by neuroscientists and philosophers.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
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