 Last week Pacific had the honor of hosting David Dobbs, an award-winning science writer, give a series of lectures. These events were put on by Pacific’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
His lectures included “The Achieving Brain: The Neuroscience of Learning & Expertise,” “The Social Brain: The Neural and Genetic Roots of Getting Along,” and “Reef Madness: Science, Religion, and the Meaning of Coral.” The first was given last Monday at the Pacific Theatre, and the other two last Tuesday in the Regents Room and the Geosciences Building, respectively. Over 200 students, faculty, staff, and community members attended these lectures. “What I found very interesting about Dobb’s work is that he examines the human practice of science,” said Dr. Becky Beal, professor of Sports Sciences, “especially how historical and cultural contexts frame scientific practice and simultaneously how science can disrupt cultural assumptions.” In his first lecture, “The Achieving Brain,” Dobbs spoke about what occurs in the brain when one learns, discussing how synapses between neurons strengthen when one acquires new concepts. “Learning is like driving a car, and neuroscience is what goes on under the hood,” remarked Dobbs. “Learning is synaptic. These synapses develop new connections between our neurons, enabling us to learn new things but also to retain old concepts we have already learned.” “I am glad I went to David Dobbs presentations because I learned some pretty interesting facts,” commented Lee Vang, a junior majoring in Film and English. “For instance, I never knew there was the “10-year, 10,000 hours rule” to becoming a genius.” The second lecture, “The Social Brain,” focused on how the brain functions in order to produce social behavior. One of the concepts he discussed was how the size of the neocortex, which is where most of the higher brain functions occur, affects the group size of primates, which in turn, impacts how well and often they bond. In the last lecture, “Reef Madness,” Dobbs spoke of the competing theories that scientists Charles Darwin, Louis Agassiz and his son Alexander Agassiz had on the formation of coral reefs in oceans. From this, Dobbs transitioned into the issue of what makes a sound scientific theory. “You get all the evidence there is, pile it on, and then you write [your theory],” said Dobbs. “Ultimately, the best theory is one that can explain the most things, or that has the most evidence.” Dobbs writes for the New York Times Magazine, as well as magazines Slate and Audubon. He is also a contributing editor to the magazine Scientific American Mind. A feature for the New York Times Magazine, “A Depression Switch,” was selected for the Ecco/Harper Perennial Anthology Best American Science Writing 2007. One of his features for the New York Times Magazine, “Buried Answers,” was included in Houghton Mifflin’s 2006 Best American Science and Nature Writing. Dobbs is the brother of Dr. Cynthia Dobbs, an English professor and Assistant Dean of COP at Pacific.
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