Enhancing Moods, One Brain Chip At A Time: The Science of Anil Menon’s The Robots of Eden

• When: Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. ET
• Where: Science Friday’s Zoom Webinar
• Tickets: Free! Registration required

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We’ve all been a part of conversations where one side says: “Now, let’s be rational.” But what if a brain implant helped you stay calm and focused, no matter the situation? Would you choose to be ‘Enhanced,’ or would you want to maintain access to your fullest range of emotions, no matter the consequences?

Join speculative fiction author Anil Menon and neuroscience researcher and artist Suzanne Dikker as they explore the scientific topics in Menon’s story, The Robots of Eden, featured in SciFri Book Club’s fall read, New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color. You’ll even have a chance to ask a question to our guests!

Attendees are encouraged to read the story in advance, as we will include questions and thoughts from audience members! You can get the book from your local library or bookstore, or if you have a Brooklyn Public Library card or eCard, you can access to the ebook version of New Suns, or place a hold and checkout the physical book during Lobby Service hours.

Anil Menon’s most recent work, Half Of What I Say, was shortlisted for the 2016 Hindu Literary Award. His debut novel, The Beast With Nine Billion Feet, was shortlisted for the 2009 Crossword Prize and the Carl Brandon Society’s Parallax Award. Along with Vandana Singh, he co-edited Breaking the Bow, an international anthology of short fiction inspired by the Ramayana. In 2016, Menon co-founded The Dum Pukht Writers’ Workshop, a residential workshop held annually in Pondicherry, India. A collection of his speculative short fiction, The Inconceivable Idea Of The Sun: Stories, will be published later this year.

Suzanne Dikker’s work merges cognitive neuroscience, performance art and education. She uses a ‘crowdsourcing’ neuroscience approach to bring human brain and behavior research out of the lab, into real-world, everyday situations, with the goal to characterize the brain basis of dynamic human social communication. As a senior research scientist at the Max Planck–NYU Center for Language, Music and Emotion (CLaME), affiliate research scientist at the Amsterdam Emotion Regulation Lab, and member of the art/science collective OOSTRIK + DIKKER, Dr. Dikker leads various research projects, including MindHive, a citizen science platform for human brain and behavior research.

This program will be viewable post-event via Science Friday’s YouTube page.

This event will take place online via Zoom. Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link prior to the event.

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ABOUT “EXPLORING NEW SUNS”: Science Friday has partnered with Brooklyn Public Library to host a series of virtual events that focus on stories from New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, edited by Nisi Shawl. Each evening, we will discuss a story from New Suns, and the author will be joined by a scientist who can shed more light on the concepts explored. It’s SciArts magic streamed right into the comfort of your own space!