Aesthetic Universals and the Neurology of Hindu Art

Guest Speaker: Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, UC San Diego
Director, Center for Brain and Cognition

This lecture is part of the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaelogy (CISA3) new exhibition entitled 'Masters of Fire: Hereditary Bronze Casters of South India'. CISA3 is part of the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

V.S. Ramachandran is Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and Professor with the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the Salk Institute. Ramachandran initially trained as a doctor and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Ramachandrans early work was on visual perception but he is best known for his experiments in behavioral neurology which, despite their apparent simplicity, have had a profound impact on the way we think about the brain. He has been called The Marco Polo of neuroscience by Richard Dawkins and The modern Paul Broca by Eric Kandel.