A comparative cognition road trip across the US in search of a map of the mind
Comparative cognition is a relatively new scientific field which addresses the mechanics of the brain from a cross-species perspective, asking how memory and intelligence function in different animals. In Out of Our Minds, Kate Webbink goes on a science road trip, travelling from Montana to New York – with stops at major universities in between – to ask scientists about the challenges they face, the limitations of the field, and what exactly they’re trying to achieve. An entertaining and humorous look at comparative cognition and scientific endeavour in general, the film delves into the mysteries of the brain, and the insights and uncertainties of the scientists who study it.
Director: Kate Webbink
videoPhilosophy of mind
‘Am I not at least something?’ A surreal dive into Descartes’s Meditations
3 minutes
videoCognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
videoBioethics
What a 1970 experiment reveals about the possibility and perils of ‘head transplants’
6 minutes
videoNeuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
videoNeuroscience
Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?
11 minutes
videoCognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes
videoMood and emotion
An Oceanic lullaby, ‘Gimme Shelter’ and more elucidate how music taps into our emotions
58 minutes
videoTechnology and the self
Why we should worry less about ‘sentient’ AIs and more about what we’re teaching them
16 minutes
videoSleep and dreams
How might the dreamworlds of other animals differ from our own?
8 minutes