#10: Jess Walcott - Brain Myths: Beliefs about the brain we get totally wrong
IN THIS EPISODE:
Today were going to discuss one of my favorite topics which is neuroscience and the study of the brain!
About 20 years ago I was introduced to neuroscience through the lens of how it applied to coaching, training and leadership development. This understanding of neuroscience instantly gave me a context for why a particular development approach worked well and why another didn’t. I found that when the approach sync’d with how the brain works it was successful, when it ran counter it almost always failed. It changed the way I trained and coached. And ever since, I’m always on the lookout to increase my knowledge and understanding of neuroscience.
Needless to say, I was really intrigued when I heard a friend use the phrase “brain myths” during a conversation. My friend is Jess Walcott, an assistant professor at Bucks County Community College where she teaches neuroscience and biology. As as a fun and interesting way of pulling together the learning for her students at the end of the semester, Jess challenges them to identify a myth about the brain and then explain why it’s not true. There are many beliefs about the brain that we commonly believe are true, when in fact they’re not. What are we talking about here? You know things like:
There are left-brained and right-brained people.
The brain works just like a computer.
The belief that we only use 10% of our brains.
And, a favorite of mine, and apparently of Jess’ students - the myth that drinking alcohol can kill brain cells.
Jess and I sat down to discuss these brain myths and others and to get into some of the science that underlies these fallacies and if there are parts of them that might in fact be a little bit true.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Jess is an adjunct professor at Bucks County Community College where she gets to learn along with her students in neuroscience and biology. Although she majored in chemistry and psychology for her undergraduate work at Bryn Mawr College, she studied neurodegeneration in an inherited form of muscular atrophy to complete her Ph.D. in neuropharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, Jess began a career as a medical writer working on regulatory submissions for new drugs and writing publications in scientific journals which she found more gratifying that running her own experiments.
On a lark, she began teaching biology at Bucks and realized this was WAY more engaging than sitting at a computer analyzing patient data. These days her focus is completely on teaching where she concentrates on boosting scientific literacy and getting messy doing real experiments. Outside of the classroom, Jess serves on the board of directors for a residential summer camp and volunteers at an organic farm. Jess also has two boys who provide her with countless opportunities to marvel at the wonders of the developing brain.
INSIGHT AT WORK PODCAST THEME MUSIC:
Our theme music is composed by Chris Lucca, Jr.. You can listen to more of Chris’ work at: http://chrisluccamusic.com and find him on Twitter: @Flipluka and on Instagram: @_flipluka.music_
ABOUT THE HOST:
Ken Blackwell is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and executive coach. His signature practice is "rescuing Accidental Leaders and Dysfunctional Teams". His firm InKlaritas, based in Princeton, NJ, works with teams and leaders in companies in the U.S. around the world. You can find out more about InKlaritas at: www.InKlaritas.com and connect with Ken on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethjblackwell/.
