Join us to watch this year's Blackham Lecture with your fellow humanists. The topic of this year's lecture is 'Neuromyths: classrooms, culture, and climate change' by Professor Paul Howard-Jones, chaired by Dr Ginny Smith.

Recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the human brain offer an exciting prospect for education. The idea that we can draw on scientific insights to improve what happens in the classroom is an alluring one – but it is also a double-edged sword. While neuroscience can inform better teaching practices, its appeal has also given rise to a host of pervasive and persistent ‘neuromyths’ that can undermine learning.

In this year’s Blackham Lecture, Professor Paul Howard-Jones will explore these compelling but misleading ideas about the brain. Where do neuromyths come from, and why do they proliferate? Paul will unpack the cultural forces and emotional biases that shape them, revealing the ‘folk neuroscience’ embedded in our everyday language.

Professor Paul Howard-Jones is Professor of Neuroscience and Education at the School of Education, University of Bristol, with degrees in engineering and psychology, and a PhD in medical physics. He was a teacher before becoming a trainer of primary and secondary school teachers and an inspector of schools. His research has focused on issues at the interface of cognitive neuroscience and educational theory, practice, and policy. He applies diverse research methods, from neurocomputational imaging studies to classroom observations, to understand learning processes.

Dr Ginny Smith is a science writer and presenter with expertise in psychology and neuroscience. Ginny has a talent for making the complex comprehensible, and a passion for brain science. She has co-written five highly illustrated books for DK Publishing, including How the Brain Works and 1,000 Amazing Human Body Facts, and has had articles featured in publications from BBC Science Focus to the Telegraph. Her latest book for adults, Overloaded: How every aspect of your life is influenced by your brain chemicals, published by Bloomsbury, was chosen as one of the 'Books to read in 2021' by New Scientist.

Let's watch the lecture together, and have a discussion afterwards.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Please note that the lecture begins at 19:30 - we will be meeting from 19:00.