Ridiculous History: A Ridiculous History of Brain Science, with Jorge Cham

Episode Release Date: June 26, 2025
Host: Ben Bowlin & Noel Brown
Guest: Dr. Jorge Cham

Introduction

In this episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown delve into the ridiculous and fascinating journey of brain science, joined by special guest Dr. Jorge Cham, a renowned expert in the field. This installment builds upon their previous discussion, exploring how humanity's understanding of the brain has evolved over millennia, often through bizarre and ethically questionable methods.

Early Understanding of the Brain

Dr. Jorge Cham opens the discussion by challenging the simplistic view of the brain as just another organ. He remarks, “It's the most complex organization of matter that we know about in the whole universe, and it's also the biggest everything zone.” (06:59)

Historically, many cultures attributed consciousness and the soul to organs other than the brain. Aristotle, for instance, believed that the heart was the center of human intelligence and emotion, considering the brain merely a cooling system. As Dr. Cham explains, Aristotle thought, “the brain was really just like a radiator... to cool, keep you warm... like coils in a radiator.” (10:37)

Trepanation and Early Neuroscience

The practice of trepanation, or drilling holes into the skull, provided some of the earliest insights into brain function, albeit through gruesome means. Dr. Cham notes, “People started to figure out, oh, the brain has parts. It's not just like one giant computer chip. It's got a little processor for this over here and a little processor for that over there.” (13:49) These early experiments, though ethically dubious, laid the groundwork for understanding the brain's modular structure.

Phrenology: Science or Quackery?

Moving into the 19th century, the discussion turns to phrenology, a now-discredited field that attempted to map personality traits to specific regions of the skull. Dr. Cham describes it as, “people would just guess... like, the part of back part of your brain, that's where your love is located and the front part is where your egoism is located.” (15:03) While considered pseudoscience today, phrenology played a role in popularizing the idea that different brain regions have distinct functions.

Noel Brown draws parallels between phrenology and other historical medical practices like bloodletting and chakra theories, highlighting how confirmation bias and limited scientific understanding led to widespread acceptance of questionable theories: “It's not too far off from things like chakras and meridian lines… some Eastern medicine that some people think is quackery and some people swear by.” (16:10)

The Case of Patient HM: Unlocking Memory’s Secrets

One of the most pivotal moments in neuroscience, the story of Henry Molaison (Patient HM), is thoroughly explored. After suffering severe seizures, Dr. William Scoville performed a lobotomy, removing parts of HM's hippocampus, which successfully halted his seizures but left him unable to form new long-term memories. Dr. Cham poignantly summarizes, “He could remember his childhood, his early adulthood... but after that, he couldn't remember more than 30 minutes at a time.” (24:12)

This case revolutionized our understanding of memory, demonstrating that different types of memory (e.g., procedural vs. declarative) are stored in distinct brain regions. Noel Brown humorously reflects on HM's condition: “I hope he has a lived perception that he is a virtuoso... he just woke up every day and every 30 minutes, the world was brand new to him.” (28:11)

Phineas Gage: Personality and the Frontal Lobe

Another cornerstone case discussed is that of Phineas Gage, a railroad worker who survived a catastrophic brain injury when an iron rod pierced his skull, significantly damaging his prefrontal cortex. Initially hailed as a miracle survivor, it was later observed that Gage's personality had dramatically changed—he became irritable and impulsive.

Dr. Cham explains, “His personality had shifted from being a nice guy to being very ill-tempered... because the front part of your brain, that's kind of where your personality is and where your ability to focus is.” (34:07) This case underscored the role of the frontal lobe in governing personality and executive functions.

Neuroplasticity and Modern Insights

The conversation shifts to neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. Dr. Cham ties this concept to both human learning and artificial intelligence: “Your brain is not static at all. Your brain is constantly kind of rewiring itself... That's how AIs learn.” (45:33)

Noel Brown shares contemporary studies, such as the enlargement of the hippocampus in London taxi drivers, reinforcing the idea that experience shapes brain structure: “They found that part of your brain that stores, like, locations and spatial memory, that's actually bigger, like, it grows.” (36:59)

Future Directions: AI and Consciousness

Looking forward, Dr. Cham speculates on the future intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence, suggesting the possibility of conscious AI within the next few decades: “It's quite possible that within, I don't know, 20 years, there'll be a conscious AI who is smarter than us.” (49:39)

The discussion touches upon the singularity, a point where AI surpasses human intelligence, drawing an analogy to the Big Bang singularity: “The term that gets thrown around a lot is singularity... like an 'it moment where a big thing happens.'” (49:58)

Ben Bowlin eloquently ties this to human consciousness and identity: “We're talking about Homo sapiens exceptionalism. Right. The idea that... you could observe maybe the way an octopus dreams, or the functions of certain higher order mammals.” (54:43)

Consciousness, Intuition, and Shared Minds

The episode explores complex topics such as metacognition and collective consciousness, referencing cases like conjoined twins who share parts of their brain, leading to shared consciousness experiences: “They sort of share their consciousness almost in a way... one of them can sense when the other person… sort of control different parts of the other person's body.” (55:11)

Noel Brown reflects on the mystical aspects of human connectivity: “It's fascinating the way twins can kind of know what each other are thinking and feeling.” (57:12) The conversation extends to the Internet as a form of collective consciousness, bridging individual minds into a larger network.

Near-Death Experiences and Consciousness

Dr. Cham briefly touches upon near-death experiences (NDEs), discussing whether such phenomena can be explained by brain activity or hint at something beyond: “All of these phenomena, near death, feeling outside of your body, having weird visions, talking to people who are already dead... there are brain processes that you can say, okay, I think that's what's going on there.” (60:01)

He emphasizes the limitations of scientific inquiry in understanding NDEs fully: “Scientists can't answer that because we can't test someone while they're having a near death experience.” (60:01)

Conclusion: The Ever-Evolving Understanding of the Brain

As the episode concludes, Dr. Cham shares his optimism and caution regarding the future of neuroscience and AI: “We're going to be understanding the universe a lot more… who knows what's going to happen with AIs.” (49:00) The hosts reflect on humanity's rapid advancement in brain science, from rudimentary understandings to the brink of creating conscious machines.

Noel Brown encapsulates the essence of the discussion: “We're talking about metacognition here... sometimes I'm jealous of the guy that can't remember anything for more than 30 minutes because it can be a waking nightmare... what we do to ourselves in terms of thinking about thinking and all of the possibilities.” (55:11)

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Jorge Cham: “It's the most complex organization of matter that we know about in the whole universe, and it's also the biggest everything zone.” (06:59)

• Dr. Jorge Cham: “Your brain is not static at all. Your brain is constantly kind of rewiring itself... That's how AIs learn.” (45:33)

• Noel Brown: “We're talking about Homo sapiens exceptionalism. Right. The idea that... you could observe maybe the way an octopus dreams, or the functions of certain higher order mammals.” (54:43)

Further Exploration

For those intrigued by the intricate dance between neuroscience and artificial intelligence, and the ridiculous yet enlightening milestones that have shaped our understanding of the brain, this episode offers a compelling narrative filled with humor, insight, and thoughtful speculation.

Disclaimer: The historical practices discussed, such as trepanation and lobotomies, are presented for educational purposes. These practices are now considered unethical and are not endorsed.