ESP Biography

Let's face it: humans don't have tough outer shells, strong claws, or sharp senses—in fact, we don't have much at all to protect us from the outside world. And yet we have spread to all continents (and even beyond this planet), beaten back disease, and created astonishing, enduring works of art and literature. All, I'd argue, because of our big, convoluted brains working in concert. This class will explore the science of cooperation and altruism. We'll look at evidence of cooperation throughout the animal kingdom—from insects to bats to human babies—and face the big questions: are humans somehow unique in their ability to cooperate? What is the point of being nice to one another, in the grand, evolutionary sense of things? And are humans born helpful and later corrupted by the world, or born selfish and later ennobled?

How can we guess what's in the minds of others, or communicate through a glance? Human actions are driven not only by the forces of the external world, but also by the invisible, internal states of our minds: our beliefs, goals, and desires. The ability to think about what other people are thinking—or Theory of Mind—is key to navigating the complex, and often messy, social situations of everyday life. In this class, we'll delve into Theory of Mind: how it develops in childhood, where it lives in the brain, when it fails, and whether it is unique to humans. Along the way, we will touch on topics in evolution, philosophy, and neuroscience.

The hardest problems in intelligence are, literally, child's play: within the first few years of life, babies learn to speak a language, reason about other people, make moral judgments, navigate through the world, recognize faces and objects, and achieve many other incredible feats. How do kids do it? Is the mind a blank slate, or are we born ready to learn? In this class, we'll discuss what kids know and how they learn about language, causality, randomness, and other people's minds. Along the way, we'll dip into math, philosophy, and history—and go through many, many cute videos.