Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain

There is a gap between what scientists know about the mind and brain and the assumptions drawn from sources of everyday information such as newspapers and television. In this talk several mind myths will be tackled, for example the fallacy that we only use 10 per cent of our brains, the assumption that our right brains function as artistic hippies, or that listening to Mozart make us more intelligent. Whole industries flourished on these dubious claims which do not spare education.

Sergio Della Sala, Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh