Expired October 12, 2020 6:00 AM
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While there is much we don’t know about our brains, the understanding of our most complex organism is always deepening. Working towards that elusive goal are the speakers in this show who have delved into some of the unseen spaces of what’s inside our heads. Alexandra Rieger, a neuroscientist at the renowned MIT Media Lab, is concerned that we are losing touch with ourselves as “We live in a decade where we have more interest in human-to-computer interaction when we haven’t scratched the surface of human-to-human interaction.” She has invented a musi-medical instrument designed for what she calls “ecologically holistic rehabilitation.”


Her colleague at the MIT Media Lab Adam Horowitz studies dreams, which “often tell us stories we cannot hear with language alone” and believes that “technology can show us part of ourselves that remain otherwise invisible, opening doors to introspection, wellness and wonder.” The dark side of technology and our brains will be explored by filmmaker Jeff Orlowski. His most recent film The Social Dilemma can be seen on Netflix and looks at the pernicious effects of social media.


Rounding out this show is The Missfits, an inspiring documentary about a squad of girls who aspire to be scientists. This journey into our own unknown will make you reconsider so much of what happens inside our heads when we are awake and asleep.


Speakers: Adam Horowitz, Alexandra Rieger, Jeff Orlowski, Ellie Wen

Film: The Missfits (20 min)

Moderator: David Holbrooke

The Missfits follows an all-girls robotics team based in San Francisco that is taking on the male-dominated field of engineering. They are determined to show other girls how fun and rewarding STEM can be, one robot at a time. The documentary follows The Missfits as they confront growing pains, build their robot, and travel to competitions. The diverse team is made up of twenty girls from high schools around the Bay Area ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen and coming from a variety of backgrounds. On their own, they are outsiders, misfits. But together, on the team, they build each other up and learn to embrace their own identities.

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    21 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    United States
  • Director
    Ellie Wen
  • Executive Producer
    Ellie Wen
  • Sound Design
    Inês Pedrosa e Melo