Tomorrow's brain debate: simulcast and livestream update #brainbrawl

Tomorrow (April 2) Robert Krulwich of Radiolab and I will be at Columbia University to moderate a debate about the future of neuroscience. Entitled, “Does the brain’s wiring make us who we are?” it will bring together Sebastian Seung of MIT and Anthony Movshon of NYU.

The auditorium filled up less than two hours after the tickets were made available online a few weeks ago, and a hefty waiting list quickly took shape. Fortunately, the organizers have made it possible for more people to watch the neurological fireworks. If you’d like to see a live simulcast, you can sign up for a free seat in nearby Pupin Hall 301. Here’s the Eventbrite page where you can grab yours.

If you can’t make it there in person, you can join us in cyberspace by catching the livestream on the Radiolab web site.

And if you want to tweet the debate or follow it on Twitter, please use the hashtag #brainbrawl (I decided #igotyourconnectomerighthere would take up too much space…)

If you’d like get ready for the debate by reading about its origins, here are some places to start:

*My latest Discover brain column is about Seung’s efforts to map neurons down to their finest connections.

*Robert Krulwich has written a blog post about the different ways scientists study the brain–using the example of the “Jennifer Aniston neuron.”

*Jon Bardin recently wrote a good look at the conflict in Nature.Jon Bardin recently wrote a good look at the conflict in Nature.Jon Bardin recently wrote a good look at the conflict in Nature.

*Here’s a piece I wrote for Scientific American last year called 100 Trillion Connections (subscription required)

Update: Zen Faulkes has a review of Seung’s new book, Connectome, at his blog, NeuroDojo. It follows up on a previous post that Bora Zivkovic reminded me of in the comments, “Overselling the Connectome.”