A Buick Skylark tools down the highway -- locked in the trunk is Einstein's brain floating in a Tupperware container of formaldehyde. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, come along on a surreal road trip with Einstein's brain. Also, where intelligence comes from, and is happiness all in our heads? A philosopher travels from Plato to Prozac.
Journalist Michael Paterniti tells Steve Paulson about the surreal road trip behind his book "Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip across America with Einstein's Brain." He describes Dr. Thomas Harvey, who did Einstein's autopsy and kept the brain, a wild visit with William Burroughs, and having dinner with Einstein's grand-daughter, who declined the tuppperware bowls containing the pieces of Einstein's brain.SEGMENT 2:
Neuro-scientist John Duncan tells Jim Fleming about his research on the brain's lateral prefrontal cortex - the region that appears to be active when we exercise our intelligence. Duncan is with the Cognition and Brain Science Unit of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, England. Also, brain researcher Tim Tully of the Cold Spring Harbor Lab in Long Island, tells Jim Fleming about the so-called "smart pill," which will vastly improve our long term memory capabilities.SEGMENT 3:
Psychologist Mark Hauser, author of "Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think," tells Judith Strasser that animal and human brains operate as if on different wavelengths. He thinks it's a mistake to attribute to animals thinking and feeling as humans know them. Also, philosopher Mark Kingwell sampled various ways of pursuing happiness from a meditation "happy camp" to Prozac. He describes his experiment for Steve Paulson. Kingwell teaches at the University of Toronto and is the author of "In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac."Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 00-08-06-A.
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