40/40 Vision Lecture: Neurology and the Passion for Art

Why is it that great works of art seem to have a universal appeal, transcending cultural and geographic boundaries? V.S. Ramachandran, director of UCSD's Center for Brain and Cognition has studied how the brain perceives works of art and thinks he may know the answer to this intriguing question. Recorded on 10/18/2000. [11/2000] [Show ID: 5224]
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[@johnk.lindgren5940]

" There is Dada, which is not even art " V.S. Ramachandran

[@catabernathy10]

I had the wonderful opportunity of attending Dr. Ramachandran's "Logic of Perception" courses a number of years ago. He's a brilliant lecturer and just sort of commands the subject when he speaks. His ideas about grouping in artwork and the "rasa" opened up an entirely new perspective of life for me, and I continue to draw upon them today. He's awesome.

[@schogini]

An hour worth spent watching this... nice to see a person with passion, it is infective and feels good

[@kevinfalcao8657]

The definition of a GREAT teacher . " THE ABILITY TO KNOW AND TO IMPART THEIR KNOWLEDGE ".

[@nivramstob]

I love his explicit honesty. He observes everything, but carefully considers proposed explanations and the reality. What he does educates us and challenges traditional understandings in favor of the truth.

[@DjSlut]

Ramachandran's practical approach to neurology is always captivating!

[@EpicArtAcademy]

As an artist and art tutor I was particularly taken with this lecture. The description of what happens in the brain when viewing art is so informative and makes perfect sense to me as an artist and not a scientist. I particularly enjoyed the description of why high realism and/or photos, have a different effect than something more emotive (as an artist would describe it). Brilliant.

[@hurdellift]

As a scientist, Mr. Ramachandran is deeply committed to understanding why he has no artistic sense. And, after much reaearch, he comes up with a brilliant answer: he is normal.

[@EpicArtAcademy]

Artistic sense is so subjective. What makes appeals to me may not appeal to you...and there in lies the beauty of art.

[@taranathrakesh]

wow! what a rectangle!!!

[@elsagrace3893]

Fantastic! Made my day. Improved my understanding of life.

[@KamoHaze]

V.S. Ramachandran IS THE MAN!!

[@s09302008]

The rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrasa of Rrrrrrrrrrrrrramachandran! =D Terrific video. =)

[@ciphernemo]

Awesome presentation! V.S. Ramachandra delivers it with very real knowledge and passion. It is a powerful and moving presentation for dry topics that would otherwise be difficult to digest. Amazing job. Thank you for posting it.

[@RodFleming-World]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

[@jimmyart007]

A breathtakingly lucid analysis.

[@schr4nz]

This is great. Ramachandran is always a good laugh and also very informative.

[@tedoymisojos]

Amazing! Thank you for uploading this, I enjoyed it SO much.

[@andeve3]

This is fascinating, love the rolling Rs as well.

[@teresamalathi1972]

Thank you. How great you are!

[@RodesLaw]

Neuroscience is so awesome. It is applicable to all human enterprises because ALL thought is produced by the brain and thoughts drive our every move.

[@EndureFocusEngageDie]

Love this, great knowledge.

[@mmehdija]

excellent! amazing content, and well-delivered too

[@parthaghosh4321]

great lecture.....

[@dcmhsotaeh]

Thanks Dr Ramachandran for all the "RASA" of knowledge. Dr M.Mahesh Mysore

[@byheavenlyhosts]

Thanks...I agree...it's just they can't do what I do...it's always been that way My grandfather was an inventor and we got along great! All the best, Susan

[@bodmondude]

From University psychology classes, I've learned that children go through a "sensitive" phase during their language aquisition. Therefore they pick up language a lot faster than adults (obvious). As a child, I learned both Hindi and English, therefore I became fluent at both. Where as Rama, he learned Hindi or Tamil, and then sometime after his sensitive period, he learned english. So you're right, It's just simple child hood language aquisition.

[@VivaLaRevolucionViva]

Wow thanks for uploading; a lot of information to study from this lecture.

[@Xalvathor]

Wow... Is this the hindu Neil Degrasse Tyson or what? I loved the video btw

[@locoemutwo4872]

excellent....thank you.

[@batfink64]

Amazing stuff, thank you :)

[@mohammadzubairarain1021]

Just beautiful !

[@imagineers0]

Love this topic. My mom saw auras all of her life. I don't know if she knew, but the specific colors she saw meant the same as what others see.

[@EndureFocusEngageDie]

Wow just fantastic.

[@Kindred1a1]

I wish all teachers were this enthusiastic when they teach

[@billyg89]

yes! i love rama.

[@guitaro5000]

@iidontcareeee Thanks for checking out my page!

[@sadenb]

He is amazing

[@Mizja1234]

let me get back to that: allthough some is outdated, very enriching and briliant. i like it a lot!

[@manasyoga]

Art of neorology is IN the NOW-wOM! Namaste !

[@vfxforge]

brilliant talk

[@rijinlee5245]

nice art!!!!!!!

[@gabrielmartinez1169]

This dude low-key funny

[@Kaya2015]

I wish my college instructors were more like this guy.

[@guitaro5000]

Is there a way to give someone Prosopagnosia, like especially if you just want to hit it and quit it and you don't want the girl to recognize and stalk you?

[@hooktenpushups]

thanks for all this : )

[@pin3appel]

this is awesome

[@toamaori]

thats my motto too 'turn the world on its head' its great for generating new ideas :)

[@dennisschatzle]

what a boss!

[@nandurimd]

Phenomenal insight in to understanding great artists.brilliant practical analysis.

[@rafaofobia]

Very good!

[@melese1988]

I love the existence demonstration experiment for synesthesia.

[@chiragshetty955]

My god, the way he rolls his R's

[@joel230182]

OPINION>abstraction from your knowledge(mind), evaluation, not the experience itself. FEELING>direct experience, perception, in present time(here and now)

[@etiennealive]

Very interesting !

[@Riversleigh1]

my kids better damn well sweat when they see me... I love these lectures...love...peace ..:-)

[@doriankilledsibyl]

I wrote that two years ago, had to look up even what you were referencing to remember. You don't need to attack me personally - it was a nasty thing to receive in my inbox. And I'm not boring, at all.

[@zhutch91]

I really enjoyed this lecture. It seemed to me like the audience was trying to tear him apart in the Q and A though.

[@TheGranti7a]

@doriankilledsibyl: Bravo for voicing your opinion!

[@gouthamprasad3840]

From the sculputures which one would you give or select as a highly satisfying. TO THOSE WHO OWN IT NOW. AND WHATS THAT POSE.

[@user.0701]

22:48 F word and violence. Great analogy

[@sparkside217]

When was this speech?

[@qwe07]

Very informative and interesting! I would love to follow up on his theories. And not to nitpick, but "responses" is spelled incorrectly at 1:19:18. :P

[@StephenDeagle]

@KeiSam7 Depends on how the teacher interprets what they're teaching.

[@warlockboyburns]

1, 2, 3, 4 sided shapes suggest communication .. past 4 is an imperfect circle (circles suggest eternity/death)... until you get to about a 20 sided shape which is a seamless circle (eternity/painless death)

[@biologyfreak101]

@imagineers0 i don't understand what you mean, "they meant the same as what others see". do colors mean something?

[@qwe07]

I took that seriously for a moment. I thought it was like a variation on British English in India. But then I remembered this was put together at UCSD! :P

[@kmica2008]

even your comment was weird :D where can we see your art? do you have a blog or something?

[@michealjohn7192]

@Ilavenya thanks

[@riffraff8020]

Remarkable

[@avelizosorio]

Bravo

[@StephenDeagle]

I used to agree for the most part with his thesis, but having been introduced to the ideas of Freud and Lacan, I've found a big problem. Meaning for an animal is fixed, that much is true. The baby bird will peck at that stick, and, sure enough, slight variations on it. But a human's desire is a property of signification, of concepts pointing to things coming into being for the individual. Meaning for us is in flux, communal, and the object of that desire will only remain so if it is not held.

[@tchapps1]

That cube on the bottom left is freaking me out.

[@HeathMc]

@omarivero Ok. What is the difference between an opinion and a feeling?

[@TheGranti7a]

@WhatsTheMusicCalled: A detailed introduction on progressive research frames in accepted parameters, the credibility of information about to be presented. Suggestion: voluntary audience members learn how to be attentive recipients by observation; one way to accomplish this can be to listen first even to one's individual reactions. Observing new information content as well as ones reactions, one learns something new not only about the information, rather also about oneself in discovery of it!

[@nulaptop]

He sounds like he knows what he is talking about.

[@hooktenpushups]

are there notes on this lecture?

[@ikziedit]

The start was like how a boxer gets anounced

[@vickkara7641]

I am kinda upset that I had never heard this guy till now. I have never felt like there's a field I should go into but this I could study forever and not consider it work!

[@Mizja1234]

neuroaesthetics is a very interesting thing though.

[@SomethingSea1]

1:13:51 Have you tried doing that? It's terribly uncomfortable!

[@noestreet760]

RAZA and CHOLA are 2 words I didn't expect to hear.

[@elchafa337]

I'm no scientist but I'd say it's not necessarily an ethnicity thing but in fact more of a cultural thing: I'm pretty sure you learned to speak hindi, probably durng your childhood, and that is what allows you to be able to make both sounds. Am I correct?

[@Tucknrollgrampa]

He makes art less bullshit and more beautiful to me.

[@screenflicker1]

@BoStevoD I don't get what you mean

[@guitaro5000]

@iidontcareeee Dude, I was just talking about a one night stand. Lighten up. It's the new millenium.

[@Kindred1a1]

@KeiSam7 But if a teacher is teaching his material, his field of study, he should have a passion for it. Its the teacher's job to insight curiosity within the students.

[@kennegun]

He's rolling is R's just to mess with us.

[@doriankilledsibyl]

@Xenophanes21 Yep, my fault, right? I'm taking Intro to Art. There's a way to be a male a teacher with humor that appeals to both genders.

[@doriankilledsibyl]

@michalchik you know, it 's not like I'm crying myself to sleep at night. I just posted my reaction to a youtube video.

[@byheavenlyhosts]

I'm a professional fine artist..pet and composer...go to google and youtube.... my family often tells me I'm weird...I always thought everything I do was just normal...but they see it as weird.

[@AA-lq5pu]

This explains why realistic art that is too realistic does not really do anything for me. I dont want this world, I want to be transported to another.

[@bodmondude]

Yeah you're right. I'm of Indian decent and I can do the RR too. It's just that I was born in Canada, so I can do both, unlike Dr. Rama who just does the RR for all Rs ;).

[@etiennealive]

I remember the venus-statues found, from prehistoric Europe. What Ramachandran says must go way back to the roots of our excistence.

[@doriankilledsibyl]

@doriankilledsibyl And also! If you recognize that "that there is a problem here," then at least my comment allowed us all to talk about it, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with me putting it out there... And discussion is healthy!

[@evelyncampbell8692]

Oh

[@samisakhai]

I dont agree with him saying the purpose of art is to exaggerate to please the eye. Artist exaggeration is to hight light to bring viewers attention to that which we normally miss

[@renzoalvau]

Excuse me. how ALL thought is produced by the brain? Is there any evidence of that?

[@ssarryo]

This doctor is funny.

[@MassiveJungle]

lol I think you missed the entire point of the lecture, which notwithstanding the scientific explanations, which is fairly intuitive: art is not merely a photorealistic 'picture' of something - there is a degree of subjective interpretation of the subject on the part of the artist

[@Sabohaque]

3:13