First of all, let it be said that Shankar Vedantam has a very cool job. Science researcher, NPR correspondent, guest speaker, seeker of curiosities. Second, his recent talk at CA was a welcome break from the usual focus on educational dilemmas and parenting guidelines. I for one appreciated the fact that in his presentation Mr. Vedantam just made us think -- and particularly he made us think about the way we think about things. In his quest to help us uncover and explore unconscious biases (part of the "hidden brain" he writes and speaks about), Vedantam has investigated dozens of fascinating topics from the myth of coincidence to risk aversion to gender inequality to economic disruption. As a social scientist, he does this through the lens of what happens within our brains as we handle such situations.

Presenting to a large Colorado Academy audience, Vedantam gave us many examples of how our unconscious biases affect our decisions, and often "trick" us into making irrational choices. He showed numerous case studies where our brains "tune out" certain information so that we can make sense of a given situation. Over millions of years our brains have developed to quickly identify what it perceived as imminently threatening while ignoring other stimuli that may be regarded as unimportant at that moment. Thus, we may focus on a tiger moving right in front of us but not see a larger herd of elephants somewhere in the distance; one is a direct threat, the other is not an immediate danger.

The necessity of this brain selectivity is self-evident: our very survival has depended on it! If we tried to control these unconscious choices--that is, raise them to the level of conscious choices, it would be so exhausting that we wouldn't make it past 9 a.m. It's just too taxing to somehow work against the hidden brain all the time. However, that's not to say we should just let that part of our brain run wild either; there are times when we should recognize our biases and try to be aware of the pernicious effect they might have, whether we are talking about subtle forms of gender or racial discrimination, or irrational fears that cause us to, for example, fear airplane travel more than automobile travel, even though the latter has a higher degree of risk. Vedantam argues that "one of the great challenges posed by The Hidden Brain is the question of whether we are willing to accept personal responsibility for outcomes where we feel we are acting fair-mindedly, but the evidence shows we are acting in biased or prejudiced ways." Thus, being aware of the detrimental effects of systemic unconscious bias helps us solve some of society's most complex and deep-seated problems.

Ultimately, like Malcolm Gladwell, Shankar Vedantam helps us to see everyday things in a fresh way by shifting our frame of reference. His work is thought provoking and entertaining at the same time. I am pleased that he was able to come to Colorado Academy and get us all to think about our hidden brains. If you were not able to hear his talk, I would recommend starting with hiddenbrain.org or Mr. Vedantam's NPR page to learn more.