Creative Language Technologies

This is episode #31 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 27th of April, 2023. My invited guest this month is Tony Chemero,  a Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Cincinnati (UC), and a primary member of both the Center for Cognition, Action, and Perception and the Strange Tools Research Lab. In his research, both philosophical and empirical, he addresses questions related to nonlinear dynamical modeling, ecological psychology, complex systems, phenomenology, and social cognition. He is the author of more than 100 articles and the books Radical Embodied Cognitive Science (2009, MIT Press) and, with Stephan Käufer, Phenomenology (2015, Polity Press; second edition, 2021).In this episode, I asked Tony to introduce the field of econogical psychology and share his views on its potential importance to artificial intelligence (details are provided in the interview notes).Here is the show.Show Notes:- Ecological psychology (definition and importance) vs. traditional cognitive science- The replication crisis in psychology- Is ecological psychology a science?- The concept of affordances: definition matters- Interpersonal synergies and alignment systems (especially online) and their implication for interface design and AI- Can AI help us understand one another? Can ecological psychology help us design platforms that support social connections online?- Ecological psychology and the MetaverseTony's books:Radical Embodied Cognitive Science:https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262516471/radical-embodied-cognitive-science/Phenomenology: An Introduction, 2nd Edition:https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Phenomenology:+An+Introduction,+2nd+Edition-p-9781509540655

This is episode #30 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 23rd of March, 2023. A couple of month ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Stephen Fleming, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Royal Society at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, where he leads the Metacognition Group. He is also a Group Leader at the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Principal Investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging. The group's research focuses on understanding the relationship between objective measures (behaviour and brain activity) and subjective experience and metacognition. Steve's research on metacognition has been recognised by several early career awards including the British Academy Wiley Prize in Psychology (2016), a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Psychology (2018), and the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal (2019). He was a previous Executive Director of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (2014-2020), and is an editor at the journals PNAS Nexus and Mind and Language. He writes widely for a general audience, including articles for Aeon, New Scientist and Scientific American, and is the author of Know Thyself, a trade book on the science of metacognition.In the interview, we touched on various aspects of metacognition as well as on its connection to artificial intelligence (details are provided in the notes from the interview).Here is the show.Show Notes:- Metacognition (definition and objective measures)- Metacognition vs. intelligence- Strategies to improve our metacognitive awareness and abilities: self-assessment vs. external feedback- Explainable AI (can metacognition help us design AI that can explain how it reached its decision?)- Current large language models (GPT-3, chatGPT) and some of their problems- Social media: how would knowledge of meta-cognition can help us design spaces that support social connections  (and how to reduce misinformation online)- The promise of artificial therapy- The objective and the subjective (How should / can objective science make room for the subjective in its own right?)Steve's books and lab:Know Thyself https://www.amazon.com/Know-Thyself-Self-Awareness-Stephen-Fleming/dp/1541672844The MetaLab http://metacoglab.org/

This is episode #29 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 16th of February, 2023. A couple of month ago, I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, a scientist with a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence).  Bernardo is particularly known for his work at the forefront of the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. Covered in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the 'Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others. Bernardo is also the executive director of Essentia Foundation, an information hub that identifies and helps to promote scientific and philosophical work relevant to metaphysical idealism or nondualism. In the interview, we touched on various aspects of these topics as well as on their connection to artificial intelligence (details are provided in the notes from the interview).Here is the show.Show Notes:- Theories of (perception of) reality: what is reality and how we make sense of it- Content representations explained- How to make room for the subjective (value, meaning, intention, purpose, etc.) in the physical world - The false mind-matter dichotomy and its connection to language- AI, its representation(s) of the world, and its illusions- Augmented reality- Approaches to AI- The tension between science and experience- How to best investigate experience and the first-person perspective- How (and even should) we bring the subjective in science?- The isolation of AI: Consequences of losing the ‘Renaissance Man'Essentia Foundation: https://www.essentiafoundation.orgMedia info here: https://www.bernardokastrup.com/p/media.html

This is episode #28 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 26th of December, 2022. My invited speaker is Dr. Erik Myin, professor of philosophy at the University of Antwerp. He has published extensively on philosophy of mind and cognition, sometimes alone, sometimes with scientists or other philosophers. With Dan Hutto he wrote "Radicalizing Enactivism" and "Evolving Enactivism", both published with MIT Press. In these books, they defend the point that cognition is embodied interaction rather than being necessarily computational or representational. Currently, Erik has just finished writing a co-authored book in Dutch on embodiment and technology, and has started a solo work titled "Of a Different Mind".The focus of our discussion is REC, the Radical Enactive or Embodied view of Cognition, and the ways in which it departs from traditional intellectual positions. Specifically, Erik debates the idea of contextual mental representations and the fact that one can explain cognition in terms of mental representations inside the brain. Instead, all these ways of representing are embodied, the result of socio-cultural practices.The second part of the interview covered the future of digital technologies (including immersive technologies like mixed reality and artificial intelligence) — and if/how they can be (re)shaped by embodied cognitive science. Here is the show.Show Notes:- What is REC (the Radical Enactive or Embodied view of Cognition)- Contentful mental representations and traditional views on cognition- The normatively of memory and the Information Processing Theory- The role of REC in the future of technology Erik Myin's website:https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/erik-myin/

This is episode #27 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 17th of November, 2022. My invited speaker today is Dr. Mark James, a philosopher and theoretical cognitive scientist who adopts an embodied approach to questions about the development of habits in both individuals and collectives. Specifically, he is interested in how the designed world shapes such habits, and how we can leverage this understanding to address questions of well-being. More recently, Mark has begun researching how psychological flexibility, our ability to switch between habits, is scaffolded by our bodies and environments. Mark hosts the Connectomics podcast, wherein he speaks with theorists and practitioners about the intersection of embodied cognitive science, culture, technology and design. Mark is also a meditator, musician and martial artist, and a lover of good stories.We started the show talking about his journey in this field and then delved deeper into aspects of Embodied Cognitive Science and its methodologies. We also looked into ways of studying subjective experience scientifically, and debated if subjective experience can be intersubjectively verified. Mark also elaborated Tom Froese's proposal for an Irruption Theory of Consciousness, a new theory of consciousness that integrates an embodied-enactive account of basic mind with radical formulations of the freedom and efficacy of intentional agency.The second part of the interview covered the future of digital technologies (including immersive technologies like mixed reality and artificial intelligence) — and if/how they can be (re)shaped by embodied cognitive science. Here is the show.Show Notes:- Embodied Cognitive Science - definition and methodologies- The scientific study of subjective experience - Can subjective experience be intersubjectively verified?- Tom Froese's proposal for an Irruption Theory of Consciousness- The future of digital technologies (including immersive technologies like MR and AI) The Connectomics podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/connectomics/id1606319926www.markmjames.com

This is episode #26 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 29th of September, 2022. Today I sat down with Dr. Andrea Macrae, a researcher in the fields of cognitive narratology and stylistics at Oxford Brookes University, in Oxford, England.  She works on literature and on non-literary discourse - most recently the discourse of charity fundraising. In her research she studies the relationships between text, readers' interpretations, and broader socio-cultural narratives and ways of thinking.Our discussion theme was the discourse of charity fundraising — a timely topic, as we live in a hyperconnected world where everybody fights for our attention. Specifically, we talked about the role of charity fundraising letters and touched on how research within the sector has only recently begun to connect with theories of narrative. This was important to address given some disconnect between the strategies employed by academic philanthropic researchers and charities   on how to measure the engagement with the beneficiary's story that would eventually drive donation. The second part of the interview covered the the future of digital technologies as contributing to storytelling for non-profit fundraising. Although virtual reality (VR) has already started to play an important role in charity fundraising, Andrea believes that traditional fundraising letters are here to stay.Here is the show.Show Notes:- the discourse of charity fundraising and fundraising letters- some disconnect between the strategies employed by academic philanthropic researchers and charities on how to measure the engagement- the role of empathy in the context of charity fundraising letters; the shift from individual to ‘universal compassion'- the future of digital technologies as contributing to storytelling for non-profit fundraising (next 10-20 years)- engagement with the donors in immersive environments (AR/VR)- ethical implications of individual's story as representative of othersRelevant papers:Andrea Macrae; Small Stories in Charity Fundraising Letters and the Ethics of Interwoven Individualism. Poetics Today 1 June 2022; 43 (2): 219–241.Link to Dr. Macrae's professional webpage: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/profiles/staff/andrea-macrae

This is episode #25 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 22nd of September, 2022. My invited speaker today is Dr. Aleš Oblak, who identifies himself as a cognitive scientist more than any other field relating to the sciences of the mind. He likes to describe himself as someone who holds somewhat incompatible views about the nature of the human mind: on the one hand, he believes human beings are irreducibly complex and require a qualitative approach; on the other hand, he argues that our behavior can be productively understood by complex machine learning analyses. Currently his work revolves primarily around psychopathology, as a researcher at a psychiatric clinic.We started the discussion with how he got into this field, then we tried to tackle one of the most important questions: the lack of explicit validation procedures in the phenomenological literature. Aleš described his own method of “consensual validation” and argued for the solution of establishing a shared vocabulary that captures specific aspects of experience — i.e., to describe the experienced (rather than outside) world.Aleš is also a proponent of a “naturalistic cognitive science”, highlighting the need for methodological pluralism in naturalistic approaches to first-person research. In fact, he calls for more ecological research designs in psychology.The second part of the interview covered the role of AI in allowing us to collect data, investigate lived experience, simulate different aspects of it, and through it, perhaps come to some universal structures of consciousness. Here is the show.Show Notes:- the lack of explicit validation procedures in the phenomenological literature- a method of “consensual validation” - establishing a shared vocabulary that captures specific aspects of experience- toward a “naturalistic cognitive science” (methodological pluralism in naturalistic approaches to first-person research)- a call for more ecological research designs in psychology- the future of AI in allowing us to collect data, investigate lived experience, simulate different aspects of it, and through it, some universal structures of consciousnessRelevant papers:A Oblak, A Boyadzhieva, J Bon. Phenomenological properties of perceptual presence: A constructivist grounded theory approach. Constructivist Foundations, 2021A Oblak. Accusatives, Deixis, and Pointing Fingers. Constructivist Foundations, 2021Link to Dr. Oblak's Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=p-HJoNYAAAAJ&view_op=list_works

This is episode #24 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 25th of August, 2022. My invited speaker today is Dr. Anna Harris, an anthropologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Society Studies at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Previously, she worked as a doctor in Australia and the UK. For the past 10 years she has been doing ethnographic studies of medicine.Her approach to the social study of medicine is grounded in ethnographic studies of contemporary medical practices, to which she adds her clinical experience working in hospitals, as well as collaborations with historians, doctors, artists, museum specialists and craftspeople. Her research is focused on the anthropology and history of technological medical practices, especially concerning questions of sensorality, embodiment and learning. Dr. Harris also writes about hospital infrastructures in her blog and her twitterfeed. Currently, she is a member of the Maastricht Young Academy and the Global Young Academy, as well as a member of the Inner City Research Ethics Committee.We started the discussion with the definition of health humanities (as compared with medical humanities), and its role in health professions education. Despite its increasing popularity, the field's contribution to desired learning outcomes is still to be assessed and proven.We then somewhat turned the dialogue toward diagnosis practices of care (within and outside clinics), where ‘sensory work' seems to be very important. One problem for caregivers, like parents, for instances, is how to assign diagnostic meaning to potential childhood disease. Some important questions here are ‘How do caregivers know what warrants (usually immediate) medical care?' and  ‘How do they judge the severity of their child's illness?'The second part of the interview covered the future of digital technologies (including immersive technologies like mixed reality and artificial intelligence) as contributing to teaching sensory awareness in diagnosis and practices of care.Here is the show.Show Notes:- health humanities (vs. medical humanities) - diagnosis and practices of care (with their ‘sensory work')- caregivers making sense of symptoms and signs of possible disease - Western medical practice (objective evidence-based judgments of health) vs. patient's or caregiver's experience - the future of digital technologies (like MR and AI) for teaching sensory awarenessRelevant papers: 1) SE Carr, F Noya, B Phillips, A Harris, et al.  Health Humanities curriculum and evaluation in health professions education: a scoping review.  BMC medical Education 21 (1), 2021.2) S Maslen, A Harris. Becoming a diagnostic agent: A collated ethnography of digital-sensory work in caregiving intra-actions.  Social Science & Medicine 277, 2021.Dr. Harris' new books: A Sensory Education (just out in paperback): https://www.routledge.com/A-Sensory-Education/Harris/p/book/9781350061651Stethoscope: https://press.uchicagoMaking Sense of Medicine: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributedLinks to Dr. Harris' website: www.makingclinicalsense.com

This is episode #23 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 11th of August, 2022. Today, I talked with Dr. Camila Valenzuela-Moguillansky. She graduated with a PhD in cognitive sciences from the Université Pièrre et Marie Curie (Paris), a Master in cognitive sciences from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and a degree in biology from the University of Chile. In parallel to her academic training, Camila has a background in bodywork: she has been a dancer and yoga practitioner for more than twenty years, and currently works with touch therapy that brings together elements of the somatic experiencing method and craniosacral therapy. Her research has focused, on the one hand, on the relationship between body awareness and pain, studying the experience of people with fibromyalgia. On the other hand, she works on addressing the methodological, theoretical and epistemological challenges involved in the study of experience from an enactive perspective. She led the EASE network project, an international network of researchers around the development of the enactive approach to the study of human experience and is currently developing the project Multidimensional approach to presence: somatic practices and the study of experience (MAPS). Camila is the director of the Laboratorio de fenomenología Corporal in Chile and of the school A MATHA, escola de tecnologías do corpo in Brazil.Today's discussion has focused on the scientific study of experience - which has been (re)considered in cognitive psychology and some other fields somewhat more recently. Western science has focused primarily on a mind-independent, objectivist, third-person perspective, thus, neglecting, for the most part, the importance of first-person experience. However, last few decades have seen a new critical vision of science emerging, one recognizing the role of observer and her embodied experience in the generation of knowledge. Today, Camila gives us a nice incursion into the challenges of first-person research and offers some suggestions for the future.The second part of the interview covered technology where we focused in particular on its (potential) role in (re)shaping our sensory awareness and reviving our sensorium of lived experience.  Here is the show.Show Notes:- Lived experience; scientific study of experience (and consciousness)- Experience from a third-person-, first-person-, or  second-person perspective- Toward a coherent framework of first-person research (Francisco Varela's proposal)- Main challenges of fist-person research- Understanding memory (from a first-person perspective)- Descriptions of lived, first-person experience (through language)- The intersubjectivity issue of first-person experience- The role of technology in the next 10-20 years in reviving the ‘felt experience'Links to Dr. Valenzuela-Mogullansky's websites: www.fenomenologiacorporal.orgwww.amatha.org

This is episode #22 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 28th of July, 2022. My guest today is Dr. Carlos Velasco, associate professor in the Department of Marketing, BI Norwegian Business School (Norway), and the co-founded of the Centre for Multisensory Marketing. Carlos received his D.Phil. in Experimental Psychology from Oxford University, after which he worked in a number of postdoctoral and consulting projects in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. His work is situated at the intersection of Psychology, Marketing, and Human–Computer Interaction, and focuses on understanding, and capitalizing on our multisensory experiences and their guiding principles. He wrote the book "Multisensory experiences: Where the senses meet technology" (2020, Oxford University Press). Carlos has worked with a number of companies from around the world on topics such as multisensory experiences, food and drink, branding, and consumer research. We started the interview with the broad topic of digital sensory-enabling technologies — and elaborated on the belief that, in the future, digital environments will most likely engage more of the senses and become more interconnected with the real world. But this a very challenging problem, and this most likely will involve a wide range of collaborative efforts across many disciplines. We then moved to the reality-virtuality continuum - a framework for classifying the wide range of immersive technologies available today — and discussed the main factors that drive the degree of immersion and presence in digital spaces. The second part of the interview covered technology where we focused in particular on how to improve eating experiences in rather specific places, like space. Of course, besides a short debate on the impact technology will have on society in the next 10-20 years, we concluded the show with a dialogue on the ethical implications of such technologies. Here is the show.Show Notes:- Digital sensory-enabling technologies - Are we satisfied with the current immersive digital sensory experiences?- A wide inter-disciplinary approach to the integration of the different senses that need to be stimulated during digital consumer experiences? And challenges for researchers working at the intersection of these areas- The reality-virtuality continuum model offers a framework for classifying the wide range of immersive technologies available today- Individual differences in perception in sensory marketing- The role does language play in transducing between/ among the various senses- Eating experiences in space- The role of technology in the next 10-20 years in reviving the ‘felt consumer experience'- Ethical implications of  digital sensory-enabling technologies Relevant book:Velasco, Carlos, and Marianna Obrist. Multisensory experiences: Where the senses meet technology. Oxford University Press, 2020.Link to Dr. Velasco's website:  https://carlosvelasco.info/

This is episode #21 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 7th of July, 2022. My guest today is Dr. Matthias Michel, a philosopher working at the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at the New York University. Although most of his research focuses on the scientific study of consciousness, he is also interested in non-human / animal consciousness. Matthias has also worked in the domain of 'philosophy of measurement' as it applies to the measurement of mental properties, especially in psychiatric research (for instance, in the measurement of fear and anxiety).We started the show by defining consciousness — discussing the ways in which we can assess our own conscious experience. Since the subjective aspect of consciousness makes its scientific study very challenging, I asked Matthias to summarize for us the current assessment methods used in the field. One such method (the use of subjective reports), although somewhat controversial, proves to be particularly important in applications like mental disorders (specifically, fear and anxiety). Matthias believes that cognitive neuroscience research on consciousness could give us a deeper understanding of mental disorders and their treatments. The second part of the interview covered technology where we focused in particular on the questions ‘can AI systems be conscious? And, if yes, how?' Matthias kindly shares with us his field's perspective as well as his own opinion on the topic.Here is the show.Show Notes:- Defining consciousness; Is human experience always conscious?- Does being conscious presuppose being aware? (And what kind of awareness is needed here?)- What makes the scientific study of consciousness challenging?- Applications: mental disorders (like fear and anxiety): how can the scientific field of consciousness help?- Subjective reports in the assessment of conscious experience- Technology: Can AI be conscious? How?Note:Relevant papers:Michel, Matthias. "The Mismeasure of Consciousness: A problem of coordination for the Perceptual Awareness Scale." Philosophy of Science 86.5 (2019): 1239-1249.Taschereau-Dumouchel, Vincent, et al. "Putting the “mental” back in “mental disorders”: a perspective from research on fear and anxiety." Molecular Psychiatry 27.3 (2022): 1322-1330.Lau, Hakwan. In Consciousness we Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience. Oxford University Press. 2022. Link to Dr. Michel's website: https://matthias-michel.wixsite.com/michel

This is episode #20 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 23rd of June, 2022. Today I sat down, virtually, of course, with Dr. Michael Mopas, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. He is cross-appointed to the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Department of Law and Legal Studies, and serves as a member of the Duncombe Studio for Social and Cultural Research. Most of Michael's work is in the area of science, technology, and law with a focus on 'sound'. In his spare time, he plays upright bass in several jazz bands in the city and participates in long-distance triathlons. He has completed two Ironman races (Lake Placid and Mont-Tremblant) and several other events.In our discussion, we turned to wearable fitness-trackers and mobile apps that allow athletes to measure, monitor, visualize, and record a variety of training metrics. Dr. Mopas and his collaborators have looked into the deeply embodied and sensory dimensions of self-tracking. The overall insight seems to be that the data generated by self-trackers are not only cognitively processed, but also sensed and felt by users. While we do have some understanding of what exactly self-tracking devices measure and quantify, we know less about how/when do their users know these quantitative metrics work for them. How do we mitigate the potential dissonance between these quantitative metrics and the athletes' lived experiences?The second part of the discussion moved toward technology. We talked about the future of wearable self-tracking devices and debated if AI can be employed to better understand the emotional needs of the user.  Here is the show.Show Notes:- Do wearable tracking devices take too much of our ability of ‘being in the moment'?- Should we value quantitative metrics over other ways of knowing and making sense?- Moments of dissonance: self-tracking device's quantitative metrics vs. the athletes' lived experience- Sharing data (e.g., Strava): potential benefits and limitations- Technology: Can we develop AI that learns qualitative data that people input into such devices?Note:Relevant papers:Mopas, Michael S., and Ekaterina Huybregts. "Training by feel: wearable fitness-trackers, endurance athletes, and the sensing of data." The Senses and Society 15.1 (2020): 25-40.Lupton, Deborah, and Sarah Maslen. "The more-than-human sensorium: sensory engagements with digital self-tracking technologies." The Senses and Society 13.2 (2018): 190-202.Link to Dr. Mopas' web page: https://carleton.ca/socanth/people/mopas-michael/

This is episode #19 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 9th of June, 2022. I interviewed Dr. Elaine Auyoung, Donald V. Hawkins Professor and Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, and Affiliate Faculty of the Center for Cognitive Sciences. She is the author of “When Fiction Feels Real: Representation and the Reading Mind”, recently released in paperback from Oxford University Press. In addition to the project on “Unselfing” described on her faculty webpage, Elaine is also working on a book project on “Becoming Sensitive”, which uses cognitive research on expertise and perceptual learning to show how training in the arts and humanities prepares learners to notice and respond to information in ways that are important for future problem solving but have been difficult to assess.We had a fascinating discussion on many important topics covered in Elaine's book, but the episode went over the usual podcast duration, so I've decided to split it into two parts. This is Part II.We continued our discussion from Part I on how to bridge the gap between readers' experience and the experience of firsthand perception — i.e., how well can we know what we don't experience directly? We then moved to the vocabulary of 'bereavement' addressing the question ‘What happens when novels end?”  As always, we concluded with a discussion on technology covering e-books, multimedia experiences, and VR. Elaine was also happy to introduce us to her current project on ‘Becoming Sensitive' where she debates the importance of the Arts and Humanities in preparing learners to make and represent information in ways that are important for future problem solving.Here is the show.Show Notes:- how well can we know what we don't experience directly? (and limitations of language) - leaving room between imagination and experience - the vocabulary of 'bereavement': What happens when novels end? - the future of digital books and the future of experiencing fiction in VR: 1st person vs. 3rd person immersion- the role of language in immersive environments - Elaine's current project, ‘Becoming Sensitive'- perceptual learning: the ability to differentiate one's experience (preparing us for noticing or for being sensitive)Dr. Auyoung's faculty webpage:https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/eauyoung Link to paperback edition of Dr. Auyoung book:  https://www.amazon.com/When-Fiction-Feels-Real-Representation/dp/0197621279/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MMDE5NRJ6GV4&keywords=when+fiction+feels+real&qid=1650048589&sprefix=when+fiction+feels+real%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1

This is episode #18 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 26th of May, 2022. Today, I interviewed Dr. Elaine Auyoung, Donald V. Hawkins Professor and Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, and Affiliate Faculty of the Center for Cognitive Sciences. She is the author of “When Fiction Feels Real: Representation and the Reading Mind”, recently released in paperback from Oxford University Press. In addition to the project on “Unselfing” described on her faculty webpage, Elaine is also working on a book project on “Becoming Sensitive,” which uses cognitive research on expertise and perceptual learning to show how training in the arts and humanities prepares learners to notice and respond to information in ways that are important for future problem solving but have been difficult to assess.We had an amazing time covering many important topics from Elaine's book, but the episode went over the usual podcast duration, so I've decided to split it into two parts.  We started with the definition of Reality Novels and ways to describe the experience of reading. For Tolstoy, for instance, readers' effort to comprehend the characters' sensations and emotions as fully as possible is an aesthetic and ethical end in itself. However, the way in which such writers convey the felt experience of the fictional worlds has remained relatively underexplored. We then looked into the extent to which literary experience depends on the the knowledge and abilities that readers bring to a text, one one hand, and how much it relies on the set of strategies employed by the skillful writer, on the other hand. Another point we addressed was the importance of the translation process in maintaining the level of immersive experience of reading.In Part II, we talked about how to bridge the gap between the readers' experience and the experience of firsthand perception — I.e., how well can we know what we don't experience directly? As always, we concluded with a discussion technologies like e-books and multimedia experiences. This is Part I of the episode.Show Notes:- what is realist fiction?- what is the experience of reading?- how do we get from words on a page to the reader's immersive experience of the story- the knowledge and abilities that readers have vs.the set of strategies employed by the skillful writer- how cognitively taxing is reading a novel?- the importance of the sensory properties of a language that inevitably get lost in translation Link to Dr. Auyoung's book  (paperback edition) : https://www.amazon.com/When-Fiction-Feels-Real-Representation/dp/0197621279/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MMDE5NRJ6GV4&keywords=when+fiction+feels+real&qid=1650048589&sprefix=when+fiction+feels+real%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1

This is episode #17th of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 12th of May, 2022. I sat down with Dr. Sally Warmington, a retired medical doctor and narrative researcher from Melbourne, Australia with a deep interest in the encounter between health professionals and those seeking care. Her experiences as a doctor, student, teacher and patient inform her research at the intersection of anthropology, cultural theory and linguistics. Her book "Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" demonstrates the key role of storytelling in medical education and practice and its potential to promote collaborative, better quality care.We had a fascinating discussion on many important topics covered in Sally's book, but the episode went over the usual podcast duration, so I've decided to split it into two parts.  This is Part II.We continued our discussion from Part I on ethics in clinical practice, focusing on the concept of ‘ethical mindfulness' — how to bring in and apply ethical values in research. We then moved to the importance of medical students' reflective writing, process which allows students to become more aware of the emotional and relational aspects of the clinical encounter. And, in this context, we explored various options to the questions “Do patients' stories matter? And, are doctors aware of their importance?” Dr. Warmington argues for a universal adoption of practices that promote dialogic engagement between medical students, clinical teachers, and patients, giving us lots of examples from her own research and clinical experience.Here is the show.Show Notes:- ethical mindfulness in research and clinical practice- reflective writing in medical teaching practice- how should we approach medical care?- toward a universal adoption for practices that promote dialogic engagement between students, clinical teachers, and patients.- Can empathy be taught? (The need to look for another way of framing the issues around the clinical encounter)- detached concern vs. engagement practice in medical encountersNote:Link to Dr. Warmington's book:  "Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" is available on the Routledge website: https://www.routledge.com/Storytelling-Encounters-as-Medical-Education-Crafting-Relational-Identity/Warmington/p/book/9781032177007#Her research papers can be found on Google Scholar.

This is episode #16 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 28th of April, 2022. Today, I sat down with Dr. Sally Warmington, a retired medical doctor and narrative researcher from Melbourne, Australia with a deep interest in the encounter between health professionals and those seeking care. Her experiences as a doctor, student, teacher and patient inform her research at the intersection of anthropology, cultural theory and linguistics. Her book "Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" demonstrates the key role of storytelling in medical education and practice and its potential to promote collaborative, better quality care.We had a fascinating discussion on many important topics covered in Sally's book, but the episode went over the usual podcast duration, so I've decided to split it into two parts.  We started talking about the importance of storytelling in clinical context and that of identity work — how storytelling tells something about who we are in relation to others. The focus here is not only how people become doctors, but also what kinds of people emerge from contemporary clinical training and how students play an active part in their own identity construction. We also talked about the role the analyst plays in such research — their training, language, cultural orientation, memories as an investigator influencing the study. As investigators, Sally believes, we should apply what she calls “ethical mindfulness” — paying close attention to the participants, but also to our own sensations, perceptions and emotional responses, process which requires an acute self-awareness and an awareness of others. In Part II, we talked about the connection between storytelling and empathy, its role in clinical settings and medical education, and the importance of helping students develop an awareness of the emotional and relational aspects of the clinical encounter. This is Part I of the episode.Show Notes:- the role of stories and storytelling in clinical practice- identity construction; identity dissonance- empathy and the formation of professional identities - “ethical mindfulness” and cognitive and sensory self-awareness in clinical practice- the analyst's role in clinical researchNote:Link to Dr. Warmington's book:  "Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" is available on the Routledge website: https://www.routledge.com/Storytelling-Encounters-as-Medical-Education-Crafting-Relational-Identity/Warmington/p/book/9781032177007#

This is episode #15 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 14th of April, 2022. My invited speaker today is Dr. Clay Routledge, an existential psychologist and the Arden and Donna Hetland Distinguished Professor of Business at North Dakota State University, the director of the Psychology of Progress Project, a faculty scholar at the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth, a senior research fellow at Archbridge Institute, and an editor for Profectus, a periodic web-based magazine focused on civilizational progress and human flourishing.Our topic of discussion is nostalgia and nostalgic experience. Nostalgia is generally defined as a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. We started by summarizing the concept's long history of three millennia, where it received different characterizations, and then moved to how people understand and experience nostalgia today. While nostalgia is a past-oriented emotion that has implications for the present, as it leads to increments in self-esteem, it also has implications for the future.The second part of the discussion moved toward technology when we talked about the possibility of using immersive technologies to experience nostalgic moments. Here is the show.Show Notes:- nostalgia and nostalgic experience- the concept's history of three millennia and its different characterizations- methodological approaches to understanding nostalgia - nostalgia and the cross-cultural lexicon - nostalgic reverie - scent-evoked nostalgia and self-esteem - nostalgia, a past-oriented emotion with implications for the present and for the future- does our current (scientific) understanding of nostalgia allow us to experience it in virtual reality?Links:https://www.psychologyofprogress.org/

This is episode #14 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 24th of March, 2022. My guest today is professor Charles Spence, a world-famous experimental psychologist with a specialization in neuroscience-inspired multisensory design. He has worked with many of the world's largest companies across the globe since establishing the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (CRL) at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University in 1997. Prof. Spence has published over 1,000 academic articles and edited or authored, 15 books (a sample is provided in the Notes). His work focuses on the design of enhanced multisensory food and drink experiences, through collaborations with chefs, baristas, mixologists, chocolatiers, perfumiers, and the food and beverage, and flavour and fragrance industries. Prof. Spence has worked extensively in the world of multisensory experiential wine and coffee and has also worked extensively on the question of how technology will transform our dining/drinking experiences in the future.We started the discussion addressing how many senses do humans have, after which we jumped right into important questions related to sense harmony, sensory overload, sense congruency, dominance, and harmony. The second part of the discussion moved toward technology (as I usually like to do), brainstorming about how can we use the senses to provide the best immersive experience in augmented, virtual, and mixed reality. Here is the show.Show Notes:- How many senses do humans have and use- Sensory dominance: Are vision and hearing our most important and most complex senses?- Looking at sensory combinations- How do senses interact?- How much do we know about individual differences in somatosensory stimulation and perception?- Considering cross-modal brain plasticity- The role of technology (i.e., AI / AR / VR) in shaping our awareness and use of the senses- Ethical implicationsNote:Links to some of Dr. Spence's more recent (and popular) books:1) Spence, Charles. 2017. Gastrophysics: The new science of eating. Penguin Viking.  [International bestseller; winner of the 2019 Le Grand Prix de la Culture Gastronomique from Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie. ]2) Spence, Charles. 2021. Sensehacking - How to Use the Power of Your Senses for Happier, Healthier Living. Penguin UK. 

This is episode #13 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 10th of March, 2022.My invited speaker today is Dr. Nicole Redvers, a member of the Deninu K'ue (“Deneh-noo-kweh”) First Nation in Denendeh. She has worked with Indigenous patients, scholars, and communities around the globe her entire career. Dr. Redvers is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Department of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota where she helped develop and launch the first Indigenous health PhD program. Dr. Redvers is co-founder and current board chair of Canadian charity the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation based in Yellowknife, NWT, providing traditional Indigenous-rooted Land-based wellness supports to northerners. She has been actively involved at regional, national and international levels promoting the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in both human and planetary health research and practice. She authored the trade paperback book titled, ‘The Science of the Sacred: Bridging Global Indigenous Medicine Systems and Modern Scientific Principles'.We started the discussion with the inclusion of indigenous perspectives in planetary health and sustainable healthcare education, and then we narrowed the topic to the revitalization of traditional wellness services in the Canadian north with a focus on the preservation of Traditional Medicines. She hopes her book will help build bridges between traditional knowledge and western medicine. We've also talked about the considerable interest (and even some initiatives out there) to create immersive experiences to teach indigenous languages and bring awareness to indigenous knowledge and perspective, and to the traditional healing practices in a land-based setting. Here is the show.Show Notes:- promoting the inclusion of indigenous perspectives in planetary health and sustainable healthcare education. - defining Traditional Medicine(s) - building “bridges” between traditional knowledge and western medicine - Indigenous languages and their connection to the land and wellness - immersive experiences to teach indigenous languages and bring awareness to indigenous knowledge and perspective in a land-based settingNote:Link to Dr. Redver's book:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/599277/the-science-of-the-sacred-by-nicole-redversnd/Paper mentioned:Nicole Redvers, Yuria Celidwen, Clinton Schultz, Ojistoh Horn, Cicilia Githaiga, Melissa Vera, Marlikka Perdrisat, Lynn Mad Plume, Daniel Kobei, Myrna Cunningham Kain, Anne Poelina, Juan Nelson Rojas, Be'sha Blondin. The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective. Lancet Planet Health 2022; 6: e156–63

This is episode #12 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 24th of February, 2022.My guest today is Dr. Jay Friedenberg, Professor of Psychology at Manhattan College where he founded and directs the Cognitive Science Program, and where he had served as Department Chairperson for over a decade. Dr. Friedenberg is a vision researcher and has published articles on symmetry detection, center of mass estimation and empirical aesthetics. In addition,  he has written a number of science books. These include undergraduate texts in cognitive science, artificial intelligence and non-linear dynamics. He is also an artist focusing on pastel landscapes and urban sketching and is serving his third year as President of the Haiku Society of America.We started the discussion with his book on "Understanding Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts: An Interdisciplinary Approach”, addressing the challenges in defining beauty, art, and creativity. After considering whether beauty is sensory in nature or more intellectual, we debated if beauty and art can be studied scientifically, and addressed the role of intuition in art creation.The second part of the discussion moved toward technology. Since AI has found its way into the world of art for quite some time now, we looked at how it has already influenced the art industry. Is AI going to replace artists or is there always going to be some human intervention required to create art? And, if so, is the art ecosystem going to equally welcome both kinds of art creation?  Looking in the future, Jay shared his opinion on the role of AI in the art space in the next 10-20 years, debating who should own the copyright and the ethical implications of AI in creating art. Here is the show.Show Notes:- Defining beauty, art, and creativity- Is beauty sensory/emotional in nature or more intellectual? What is the role of intuition in art creation?- Can beauty and art be studied scientifically?- AI and the art industry- The role of AI in the art space in the next 10-20 years- Should AI own the copyright? - Ethical implications of AI in art creationNote:Links o Jay Friedenberg's books on Amazon: 1) Jay Friedenberg. The Future of the Self: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Personhood and Identity in the Digital Age. 1st Edition. University of California Press. 2020. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KCW7319/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4 2) Jay Friedenberg. Understanding Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts: An Interdisciplinary Approach. 2020.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08G1SG16R/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2 Jay's art:  bigapplearts.com

This is episode #11 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 10th of February, 2022. It was my pleasure to talk today with Dr. Laura Otis who comes from a background in biochemistry, neuroscience, and laboratory research, but she is now an English Professor at Emory University. She is the author of multiple academic (but readable) books on the relationship between literature and science, and she has also published six novels. In her blog on creativity for Psychology Today, she writes about how the thinking of creative writers and scientists is connected. Laura tries always to write and talk so as to respect the intelligence and ways of knowing of people in very different fields who build knowledge differently.We started the discussion with a definition of thought, focusing on the different ways people think and remember. Laura thinks that people's mental worlds vary greatly. Believing that the world's 7 billion mental worlds are similar, gives us just a crude, limited, and unrealistic picture of what human thinking involves. In fact, according to her, ‘Is thinking visual or is it verbal?' is the wrong question to ask. In her interviews, Laura has also tried to see if there is any connection between thinking, feeling, and the senses as she asked her subjects questions like “Do you see anything when you read?” or “What senses predominate in your memories?” In the second part of the show, we discussed her new project — a book called “The Neuroscience of Craft” on how fiction-writers and scientists can benefit from each other's knowledge about sensory systems. Here is the show.Show Notes:- What is thought?- ‘Is thinking visual or is it verbal?' The Visual — Verbal spectrum approach to thinking- Differences in the way thinking feels- An investigator's training, language, cultural orientation, and even memories can influence a (scientific) study - How can people with different thought styles learn to communicate with each other better? - Ways of thinking in education: how can we better interact with our students- Blending senses in fictionNote:Books and papers mentioned:Laura C. Otis. (2015). Rethinking Thought: Inside the Minds of Creative Scientists and Artists. Oxford University Press. Laura's Amazon page has links to all of her published books for readers who are interested: https://www.amazon.com/Laura-Otis/e/B001HMOU9W%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share A link to Laura's Psychology Today blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/laura-otis-phd

This is episode #10 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 27th of January, 2022. My invited speaker today is Dr. Daniel M. Gross, Professor of English and Affiliated Faculty in the Critical Theory Emphasis at UC Irvine, where he is also Campus Writing & Communication Coordinator.  Daniel has been working on emotions-in-the-world for over two decades. His approach starts with his home discipline of Rhetoric – once understood as the art of moving souls by way of the passions – which he then mines for the sake of some pressing questions: How do we understand collective political emotions like gay pride, or the angry white male? Are emotions limited to human beings? And what do we do with fights over which model of emotions should prevail, — for example, a bio-physiological model that might help us recognize the face of a terrorist at the airport, or a humanities model that helps explain things like how "terror" becomes an unevenly shared experience in the first place? Working sometimes with Stephanie D. Preston of the Michigan ecological neuroscience Lab, he has pursued answers to these questions in published works that include The Secret History of Emotion: From Aristotle's Rhetoric to Modern Brain Science (2007), and Uncomfortable Situations: Emotion between Science and the Humanities (2017).Of course, we had to start the conversation with rhetoric and emotions, both important aspects of human experience. We then slightly shifted focus to Darwin and his view of emotions and sensations. We could not help connecting the discussion to Ekman's categories of emotions, with specific reference to empathy and sympathy. Daniel shared his view on the current research practices in emotion research in the context of lab-controlled experiments vs. studies on emotions in the wild. In the second part of the show, we debated on how well can computers (ever) be able to detect human emotion vs. how good humans are at knowing what other people really feel. We closed with ethical implications of such technologies. Here is the show.Show Notes:- Rhetoric and emotions- (back to) Darwin on emotions and sensations- Empathy vs Sympathy- (back to) Ekman's categories of emotion: the good, the bad, and the ugly- Research practices on emotions: emotions in the lab vs. emotions in the wild- Some methodological recommendations for emotion studies- An interdisciplinary approach to emotion research- Technology: the role of Emotion AI in shaping our emotion and sensory awareness, and practices of emotion research in the next decade (or so); How well can AI (ever) be able to detect human emotions vs. how well are humans at this taskNote: Books and papers mentioned:Gross, Daniel M. (2006). The secret history of emotion: From Aristotle's Rhetoric to modern brain science. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226309934.001.0001Gross, Daniel M. (2017). Uncomfortable Situations: Emotion between Science and the Humanities. DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226485171.001.0001Gross, Daniel M. and Stephanie D. Preston. Darwin and the Situation of Emotion Research. Emotion Review 12(3), 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073920930802

This is episode #9 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 13th of January, 2022.  Happy New Year, everyone! In today's show, I am talking to Dr. Allan Køster, a philosopher focussing on applied Phenomenology in investigations of human suffering. He has worked broadly in the field of phenomenological psychopathology, but most recently has done research on the existentiality of grief/bereavement and on COVID-19 patients' experiences of isolation during admission to intensive care units.The fascinating topic of discussion today is the felt experience of others, in their absence. Many of us have experienced this. We closed our eyes, relaxed and imagined the loved one's presence as a warm feeling of love and comfort, their smile, laugh, their touch, even their scent — what the French call ‘sillage' — and have an acute sense of awareness, a tender and loving feeling. But what about the case where a loved one leaves the physical world and never comes back? This is Allan's research focus. Our discussion starts with the fundamental definition of phenomenology and how does such a paradigm describe human experience, especially, that of concrete sense of other. Allan believes that this particular kind of felt experience of the other is sensory rather than cognitive — and he calls it “a sensorium of the other”. We discuss the modalities that make out this fundamental sensorium and how these modalities interact to give this sense of embodied felt familiarity. We then shift focus to bereavement and to the abnormal experiences of ICU isolation in COVID patients - discussing how the pandemic has changed the way we interact.In the second part of the show, we tackle, of course,  issues related to the role of technology (esp. immersive technologies) helping one re-experience the felt presence of others. And, of course, we had to close with the ethical implications of such technologies. Here is the show.Show Notes:- Definition of Phenomenology; how does it describe human experience- The felt experience of the other as a sensorium (and its modalities)- Phenomenologically structured interview process in research- How the pandemic has changed the way we interact- Bereavement and the abnormal experiences of ICU isolation in COVID patients- Immersive technologies helping one re-experience the felt presence of others- The ethical implication of such technologiesNote: Allan Køster's forthcoming book:https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.routledge.com/Cultural-Existential-and-Phenomenological-Dimensions-of-Grief-Experience/Koster-Kofod/p/book/9780367568115__;!!DZ3fjg!s7tf5zuTOw85NVxCRtQe42KstNHaMvR4bPiGU0hbAWP3GaPYomU6Pxa16vZYTnvN$

This is episode #8 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 23rd of December 2021. In today's show, I am talking to Dr. Rob Boddice, Senior Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the History of Experiences, Tampere University, Finland, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Canada. He is the author or editor of 11 books, most recently ‘Humane Professions' (2021), ‘Emotion, Sense, Experience', with Mark Smith (2020), ‘A History of Feelings' (2019), and ‘The History of Emotions' (2018). ‘Feeling Dis-Ease in Modern History', co-edited with Bettina Hitzer, will be published by Bloosmbury in the Spring of 2022. He is currently completing a book called ‘Knowing Pain: A History of Sensation, Emotion and Experience' for Polity Press.Professor Boddice's recent book ‘Emotion, Sense, Experience', with Mark Smith, published last year, is the focus of this show. We start by addressing the central role of emotions  in understanding experience, especially experience in the past. In his book, Rob advocates for a broader dialogue on the treatment of the senses and emotions that would lead to “a more accurate, robust, and ultimately, more meaningful history of human experience” (Boddice & Smith, 2020). And, in doing so, he insists in the reconstruction of context to the maximum extent possible, to understand the practical framework in which experience is produced — otherwise, he says, “we risk transfiguring the feelings of others into one's own” — imposing the present on the past. But accessing the situated ways of hearing, feeling, touching, sensing is very difficult and has been done so far through a very zoomed in analysis of the context. The best, he believes, is probably to represent that distance between past and present — and emotions should not be kept separate from the senses - especially when working with experiences in the past.In the second part of the show, we tackle issues related to the role of technology (especially Artificial Intelligence) in shaping our emotion and sensory awareness, and practices of emotion research in the next decade. We close with a discussion on whether historians can and should keep AI ethical and on track. Here is the show.Show Notes:- What is to say ‘History of X'? (where X can be emotion, feelings, experience) and what is experience, especially felt experience?- How many emotions are out there? How should we study them - in isolation, or as a united whole? Is there a boundary between reason and emotion? - The critical need for an interdisciplinary approach to the history of emotions.- Emotion AI: rather challenging to build, adding to this the recent backlash from the Ethics community on the consequences of AI  due to the misunderstanding of the nature of emotions. Would  a change in our understanding of emotions lead to the ‘right' technology?- Immersive Technology: the role of  AI in shaping our emotion and sensory awareness, and practices of emotion research in the next decade (or so); Can immersive technology help historians access the past? And, can/should historians keep AI ethical and on track?For more information on Prof. Boddice's books: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/emotion-sense-experience/DBE24D02C6367B362884DAC8A002F69Fhttps://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/feeling-disease-in-modern-history-9781350228375

This is episode #7 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 9th of December 2021. In today's show, I am talking to Mr. Sayantan Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women, affiliated with West Bengal State University. He is currently involved in research in the Department of Sociology at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Mr. Ghosh explores the Sociology of Smell, the study of smell and society, literature and society, Indian social thinkers, philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, study of religion and society. He is a passionate researcher of the sense of smell, hoping for a better future (or, as he likes to say), more fragrant future of humanity. He believes that we, as human beings, depend much more on our senses than we think, particularly on our sense of smell - as we judge and make decisions based on smell. It is not so much about knowing aspects of the external world, as it is about knowing one's own self. In our discussion, we touch on many important aspects such as logic and sensations in the Western vs. the Indian traditions, smell and language, smell and its connection to structural inequalities and urban planning, as well as sense impressions as they contribute to perception in people with sensory impairment. We conclude hoping for a multi-sensory future, addressing ways (including technological ones) to bring more awareness to our senses, especially to the sense of smell. Here is the show.Show Notes:- The sense of smell: Western view. vs.  Indian traditions (Vyasa and Kalidasa): the separation b/w logic and intellect, on one side, and emotion, feeling and sensation on the other.- ‘Indryas': the gate of knowledge- Smell and language: olfactory vocabulary of English and Bengala- The importance of the senses in everyday life (in our occupations, the way we move around, what we eat, and in our intimate moments): How do we interact with different smellscapes and how are these shaped by culture? (i.e., as in Indian culture: food/spices, incenses in temples, etc.)- The sense of smell and its connection to structural inequalities: the ‘unsmellables'- Smell and the city: urban planning as well as olfactory planning- Sense impressions and their contribution to perception (e.g., in people with visual impairment, etc.)- The hope for a multi-sensory future: self-awareness and the senses, and ways (including technological ones) to bring more awareness to our senses, especially to the sense of smellLinks:Professor Ghosh can be reached through his LinkedIn account (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayantan-ghosh-66106a228/) and his academic webpage (https://hmmcollege.ac.in/index.php/Frontend/faculty?id=22)

This is episode #6 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 25th of November 2021. In today's show, I am talking to Dr. Mitchell J. Nathan, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Learning Sciences in the Educational Psychology Department, Director of the MAGIC Lab, and a Fellow of the Teaching Academy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He studies how people think, teach, and learn, with special focus on the role that language and embodied processes play in understanding mathematics and engineering disciplines. His research explores the development of algebraic reasoning, expert blind spot in teaching, how cohesion processes support integrated STEM education, computer animation to support reading of mathematics story problems, and the embodied nature of mathematical intuition and geometric proof, with implications for the design of educational technology, teacher education and professional development, and student knowledge assessment. Professor Nathan has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has recently published a book ‘Foundations of Embodied Learning: A Paradigm for Education' - which is the focus of this show. In his book, he advocates for a coherent evidence-based framework for how people learn. Starting with basic definitions of learning and the current state of the US education system, we address the central role that embodied learning plays in education and how can such an approach be measured.In the second part of the show, we tackle issues related to the role of immersive technologies in reshaping learning and how it might be done. We wrap up the discussion touching on the important concepts of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and their relation to an embodied approach to learning. Here is the show.Show Notes:What is learning and what is the current state of the education system in the US (and elsewhere)Embodied learning: a proposal for a coherent evidence-based framework for how people learnFoundational theories at the core of the education system in the US and elsewhere: Information Processing Theory (definition, advantages and disadvantages)The sensorial component: the role of the senses and their interconnections in this grounded and embodied learning approachAssessment practices: how exactly can we measure embodied learning? Do we have the necessary tools?Education technologies: role of immersive technologies in reshaping learning and how it might be doneDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): how do they relate to an embodied approach to learningOther Notes:Books and articles mentioned:Mitchell J. Nathan. Foundations of Embodied Learning: A Paradigm for Education. Routledge. 2021.Maxine McKinney de Royston, Carol D. Lee, Na'ilah Suad Nasir, and Roy Pea. Rethinking schools, rethinking learning. Phi Delta Kappan. 2020; 102(3):8-13.For more information on Prof. Nathan's book and research:https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-09017-7.htmlhttps://www.routledge.com/Foundations-of-Embodied-Learning-A-Paradigm-for-Education/Nathan/p/book/9780367349769Don't miss the live conversation of Prof. Nathan's book hosted by A Room of One's Own on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 - 6:00pm. Detailed information on how to join virtually  can be found here: https://www.roomofonesown.com/event/mitchell-nathan-author-foundations-embodied-learning-conversation-dr-martha-wagner-alibali

This is episode #5 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 11th of November 2021. In today's show, I am talking to Dr. Mark M. Smith, Carolina Distinguished Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina. Mark is the author of numerous books on history and the history of the senses - and in this show we are focusing on two of his most recent books: ‘Emotion, Sense, Experience' (co-authored with Rob Boddice) and ‘A Sensory History Manifesto'. Starting with basic definitions of human experience, lived experience, and the history of the senses, we address the central role the senses play in understanding experience, especially experience in the past. In both books, Prof. Smith advocates for a broader dialogue on the treatment of the senses, the need for a more situated context in methodological investigations that would lead to “a more accurate, robust, and ultimately, more meaningful history of human experience” (Boddice & Smith, 2020). Mark also believes that the future of sensory history would greatly benefit from a wider interdisciplinary engagement of the community at large. In the second part of the show, we tackle issues related to the role of technology (especially artificial intelligence) in shaping our awareness and use of the senses as well as the practices of sensory history. Specifically, advances in immersive technologies (including the Metaverse) would eventually make possible Alain Corbin's famous meditation on the tight connection between the senses and emotions: “There is no other way” he said, “to know men of the past than by trying to borrow their glasses and to live their emotions.” And, of course, we had to close the discussion with a short incursion in the sensory shift brought by the pandemic. Ethical implications of consuming, using, and monetizing historical experience were also addressed. Here is the show.Show Notes:Definitions: Sensory history, lived experience, sensory knowledgeImportance of analyzing senses: unpacking the meaning of a moment in the pastHow do people sense and what kind of meaning do they give to itHow to look at historical evidence with a sensory nose:context/discourse/words matter: importance of contextualization in using and interpreting historical past through the sensesNeed for healthy disputes in field formationPressure in Higher Education: to make research look relevant to contemporary societyCareful attention: the pitfalls of (disingenuous) consumption of the pastWhich approach is better to consider: senses in isolation or senses as an inter-related whole?Importance of interdisciplinary research of the senses: call for a genuine, authentic, and equitable dialogue across many disciplinesRole of Immersive Technologies (i.e., Artificial Intelligence) in shaping our awareness and use of the sensesWhy this quest for immersion and what it entailsDegree of authenticityDifference between re-constructing the past and the immersive experience in the MetaverseDisgustology - in predicting voting patternsImpact of the pandemic on the sensesBooks mentioned:Boddice, Rob and Mark M. Smith. Emotion, Sense, Experience. Cambridge University Press. 2020.Smith, Mark M.. A Sensory History Manifesto: 4 (Perspectives on Sensory History). Penn State University Press. 2021.Contact info: For more information on Prof. Smith's books and research visit:https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/history/our_people/directory/smith_m_mark.phphttps://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-09017-7.html

This is episode #4 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 28th of October 2021. In today's show I am talking to Professor Rabindra (Robby) Ratan about the Metaverse and the Web 3.0. In addition to basic definitions and the etymology of the concepts, we explore various important aspects such as how is this virtual space governed, how are its contents moderated, and what kind of experience does and can the Metaverse give its users.As more and more companies are making their presence known in this so-called ‘embodied space' (just to cite Mark Zuckerburg), we discuss the future of the Metaverse related to storytelling as part of the user's multi-modal and multi-sensory experience, as well as to some of the ethical issues that most likely will arise in this still virgin space. Dr. Ratan is Director of the SPARTIE Lab at Michigan State University, which performs research on the effects of human-technology interaction, examining how the use of media technologies (e.g., avatars, agents, automobiles) influences meaningful outcomes (e.g., education, health/safety, persuasion). SPARTIE  stands for Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects. At the end of the interview, Robby summarizes his work on reducing toxicity in virtual spaces by employing various design principles and finding ways to make people be more responsible and avoid promoting certain stereotypes online. Here is the show.Interesting fact: It also happens that, as of today, when this episode went live, Facebook becomes Meta, its new corporate name.Note:This episode is being cross-posted with SPARTIE-cast, the SPARTIE lab's own podcast. You can check out their episodes here: https://www.spartielab.comartsci.msu.edu/newsHere are the lab's socials:https://twitter.com/spartiecasthttps://www.facebook.com/spartiecasthttps://www.tiktok.com/@spartiecast_msu?https://www.instagram.com/spartiecast/https://www.linkedin.com/company/spartie-cast-with-dr-robby-ratan/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyjTMOMPCm2w0i-yOat1G0A

Hello creatives! This is episode #3 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 14th of October 2021. In today's show I am talking to Professor Tim Cole about radical inter-disciplinarity: bringing in academics and researchers from across the Arts and Humanities - STEM divide as well as people with different expertise from beyond the university. Tim shares with us his stories of success with high-risk, experimental collaborative projects and with ‘creating a radically different culture within the academy' as he likes to say. Professor Cole is a historian whose interests range widely over historical geographies, social and environmental histories, and the digital humanities. He has also been involved in undertaking and facilitating interdisciplinary and co-produced research projects across the arts and sciences, and with creatives and communities. He is the founding director of the values-led Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol where he is also Professor of Social History. His latest role involves serving as academic advisor to the Dan David Prize to celebrate and support innovative research on all aspects of the past. His role has been to connect and support people to work well in teams especially across the divide between academia and the world outside it. In today's show, he talks about the important interest in content / storytelling, technology, and audiences coming together within the fascinating space of creative industries for better user experience. Note:You can find out more about Professor Cole and the Brigstow Institute here:http://www.bristol.ac.uk/brigstow/ https://bristolbathcreative.org/ (which is the follow up to REACT)

Hello creatives! This is episode #2 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 23rd of September 2021.I am Roxana Girju, your podcast host. In today's show I am talking to Jax Deluca about bridging the digital divide between Arts and Technology. Jax is the Media Arts Director of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). She brings in twelve years of experience at the intersection of arts and community-building as an artist, non-profit administrator, and educator. In her position, she is in charge with the NEA's grant portfolio and field-building resources for the arts organizations across the country working in film, video, audio, immersive technology, and other emerging media forms.Jax is also one of the contributors to “Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium”, a report produced by the National Endowment for the Arts' Office of Research & Analysis in collaboration with the Media Arts Division. This is the focus of today's episode.Note:The National Endowment for the Arts supports activities at the intersection of arts and technology through its flagship Grants for Arts Projects program in the Media Arts discipline. More information on the NEA's grant opportunities is available at arts.gov/grants The report on “Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium” can be found here: https://www.arts.gov/about/publications/tech-art-supporting-artists-who-use-technology-creative-mediumCheck out as well: @NEAarts on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)National Endowment for the Arts' Support of Media Arts:https://www.arts.gov/impact/media-arts

Hello creatives! This is episode #1 of the podcast and it's Thursday, the 9th of September, 2021. I am Roxana Girju, your podcast host. In today's show, I'm talking to Dr. Ashley Bear about a National Academy of Sciences study on the importance of "The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education". Dr. Bear served as the study director of this initiative, working with an expert committee of artists, humanists, scientists, engineers, and doctors over a period of two years. She currently serves as the Acting Director of the National Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, who tackles issues of gender equity in STEM -- a topic that the committee of the previously mentioned study also explored. Note:The report and associated materials can be found here:https://nationalacademies.org/our-work/the-integration-of-the-humanities-and-arts-with-sciences-engineering-and-medicine-in-higher-education

Introducing Creative Language Technologies The podcast  explores the multifaceted aspects of this emerging field, at the intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine (STEMM) with the broader sector of Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts and Culture (HSSAC). We aim to revitalize technological imagination and promote creative and diverse themes with social impact. The first episode is coming the second Thursday of September and will help you understand what's going on in this space.