Q&A with Todd Sampson
In a piece that first appeared in Encore, Todd Sampson talks about his show ReDesign My Brain, a three-part documentary series on the science of brain plasticity.
How did you get involved with the show?
The ABC had been looking at a number of ideas for me and I’d been considering lots of different things to do next. As a climber, I was really keen on doing an adventure series but I’m also a total science nerd. When they came to me, I felt this could be an adventure science series so I thought, “Well, that’s perfect.” It didn’t take much brain power for me to say, “Let’s do it.”
How long did it take to bring it all together?
This was a great series – thanks for making it.
Having also had a long interest in the brain, this was an awesome job at facing and conquering your fears and proving the brain’s full potential – something that’s now being scientifically proven every day.
I’ve got no affiliation at all (honest!), but sign up to http://www.lumosity.com to try some of these brain games for free.
Subconscious brain is definitely running the show, but can be changed if you’re not getting the right results!
Derren Brown’s Faith or Fear was very interesting last night too….
I came across one of the shows the other night (by accident while channel surfing – sorry Todd) and was totally engrossed from the get go, especially when Todd let them turn part of your brain off, albeit temporarily! Neuroplasticity – a crazy exciting new frontier from advertising to medicine.
I used to work for todd and he is a top bloke. Great to have a chinwag with.
Loved the programme. It did not tackle pain which to many “experts/professionals” can also be managed by the mind. I do not expect or want you to experience pain to prove the premise but I would be interested in knowing where/how pain boundaries have been stretched and in what circumstances. Pain – is it only a physical experience?
Massive Sampson fanboy, and this was a bit of fun. But as someone who has actually studied neuroscience (not that much of it, but enough!) I have to say that the show did annoy me ever so slightly. Measurement issues… very loose constructs… generalisability of results to actual real life performance… Still a very cool show, but you gotta know that neuroscience is plagued by hype at the moment and is even more susceptible to popularisation because it is so intimately applicable to all of us.
PS. @Vern – lumosity is a fucking scam. After being annoyed by their sidebar ads I decided to delve into it at some point. Any long term Gruen fans would know the power of the lab coat and clip board, and lumosity is a case in point. Try to find the research they keep touting? Well after digging really deep into the site they finally give a list of the studies. Most findings are preliminary, non-significant, or not all that impressive if you look at what they were actually measuring. If you really want to boost the performance of your brain then keep your money and instead eat healthy, avoid stress, sleep well, do cardio and weight-baring activities regularly and remain socially and mentally active 🙂
*bearing
And who said Ad guys don’t get PR! 🙂
Good for you Todd, an enjoyable watch, and great to see industry folks breaking the glass ceiling and having it all!