Biography
Jonathan Toomim is a neurobiologist whose goal in life is to make people smarter. His talk at BIL 2011, "A Practical Scientific Guide to Cognitive Enhancement," discussed several practical, proven, and potent chemical methods for improving human cognition, and drew enough interest that the speaker schedule was delayed by 20 minutes. This year, he intends to give two talks. Expect to learn about cognitive training programs that work (including his work on Brain Workshop, a free open-source scientifically-backed program) and ones that don't. He will also speak on the ethical issues of cognitive enhancement, the social change that will likely result from such technology, and how we can maximize benefits and minimize the damage it causes. If you're lucky, you might also catch him demoing his start-up's work, a system for cerebral blood flow neurofeedback and mind-controlled videogaming.