#146 The Most Complicated Thing in the Universe: What is the Brain?

Matthew Cobb is a British zoologist and Emeritus professor of zoology at the University of Manchester. Get his book, The Idea of the Brain: A History Closer to Truth's Map of Consciousness: loc.closertotruth.com/map TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 The Heart or the Head?4:13 Medicine in the Ancient World12:25 Why Don’t We Accept Evidence?18:34 From Ancient to Modern Understanding29:29 When Did We Reach a Consensus on the Brain?37:41 Electricity in the Brain39:58 Our Metaphors for the Brain44:15 Is the Brain Segmented or Whole?01:05:20 Why is Speech Governed by the Left Hemisphere?01:18:55 Why is the Brain Split Into Two Hemispheres?01:23:06 Where in the Brain Does Consciousness Originate?01:32:46 The Ladybug Robot01:35:08 Back to Consciousness01:45:27 What is a Neuron?01:56:04 Why is Smell Connected to Memory So Strongly?02:02:14 Do London Cab Drivers Have Larger Hippocampi?02:10:11 The Limits of MRI and CT Scans02:19:24 Will We Ever Be Able to See Consciousness in the Brain?

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#146 The Most Complicated Thing in the Universe: What is the Brain? is an episode from The Cosmic Skeptic Podcast by Alex J O'Connor.

This episode is 02:24:33 long.

This episode was published on Mar 8, 2026.

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