The curious brain in the museum

GIRL: What are we doing here Uta?

UTA: Well, I've been asked by the Royal Society to give a lecture here at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Speaker: Please join me in welcoming Professor Uta Frith.

[TITLE: THE CURIOUS BRAIN IN THE MUSEUM]

GIRL: What's the Royal Society?

UTA: The Royal Society is our National Acadamy of Science, and it was founded 350 years ago. There were some very curious people in London who got together

and wanted to know how the world really worked. They were tired of reading about that in books, they wanted to do their own experiments to find out, and then

they published the experiments so that other people could do them too.

Look at this! And have a look at this!

GIRL: What happens to my brain when I go into the museum?

UTA: Your brain is curious. The museum feeds its curiosity and makes a cycle out of stimulating your brain and rewarding your brain, and if your curiosity is

your brain's driving force, like hunger for your stomach, then it's like feeding your body with food and getting energy and feeling full as a reward.

Now, here is one of the greatest treasures of this museum.

GIRL: Wow, this carpet must be really special.

UTA: Yes, it's behind glass. And it's very dark so that the colours don't fade.

GIRL: It's like a giant pattern.

UTA: Yes, like a garden and for our brain this is a really amazing thing, like being in Aladdin's cave. There's even an Aladdin's lamp there. This is

repeating the same thing again, all different flowers and the brain likes this repetition, we like this order.

And here there are some patterns on tiles from Turkey.

GIRL: I see what you mean. It is the same pattern again and again.

UTA: Yes, they do repeat.

GIRL: Why does the brain put things in order?

UTA: Our brain puts things in order because it's part of our search for meaning. We love seeing the same thing put together in such a way that it looks like

we are all in control.

And these marvellous dishes, also from Turkey, have been put in this cabinet by the museum people, and again in an order because we love to see them like

that.

GIRL: I like this bottle. Which one do you like?

UTA: I love this dish with the tulips and carnations.

GIRL: Oh Uta, look at this. It looks like a story.

UTA: I think it does look like a story, a story from One Thousand and One Nights. It's from Persia, and hundreds of years old.   

GIRL: Do you think they're talking to each other?

UTA: Yes, they're talking to each other with their eyes. And I think they're talking to us. You see, that's what happens to the brain in the museum, we can

talk to the people from the past and they can talk to us.

Okay, now we shall come to the sculptures. Here is a really lovely one. You see this boy, how he's blowing the bagpipes and the little dog listening? Now I

think when the brain sees this it automatically wants to hold a pipe and play, and blow up the cheeks. Do you feel that too? It almost makes you want to do

the same thing, and that's how the brain works. It's like a mirror. And when we see these lovely pieces, these sculptures, we try to be ready for the same

kind of feelings that these people have. And you know it was made a very long time ago, in fact round about the time when the Royal Society was founded.

GIRL: Why do they have labels?

UTA: These labels are written by experts. It's really important to us to find out why an object's been made, and why it's valuable and why it should be here

in the museum.

GIRL: So every object can tell us a story?

UTA: Yes. We also want to find out what the creator of the object wanted to tell us, what was their intention. Remember, we're programmed to search for the

meaning.

So, the museum is good for learning because you can go there and learn with your friends, or with your class, or on your own, and the objects you see in the

museum they communicate things to us. Things that people have done in the past. And some scientists say that communication is the most important part of what

makes us human. Museums help us to build a picture of our society, and it's what we call culture. They help us create that. So when you look at all these

beautiful objects you wonder who has made them, why they were made and they can inspire you to make your own things, to be creative yourself.

Look at these patterns. All over the world people love to create patterns, but the patterns tend to vary in different cultures.

I think we should have a look at this beautiful garden and these marvellous buildings here. And actually, you know, this was the very first building of this

museum and I think we should go and have a look at the door.

See how beautiful this building is.

And this really was the first entrance. What's interesting here is that on one side are all the scientists and on the other side are the great artists and

they're all working together. The idea of this museum was really to have a place for art and science.

GIRL: Why has he got his eyes closed, is he sleeping?

UTA: I don't think that's the intention. He's just very, very peaceful. He's the Buddha meditating as you can see from his hands and that he has his eyes

closed.

Now some objects in the museum are made to show off wealth and power and they are comissioned by very powerful people to show how rich they are to afford

this, but other objects are made to show a different kind of power, a belief, something very strong, and here you can really feel some other force. He's

emptying his mind and he's so calm and you can perhaps imagine what the museum is like when everybody has gone but the lights are still on.

I can see that you're very curious right now by looking into your eyes. Your pupils are very big when you're curious, and they get even bigger when you get

an interesting answer.

GIRL: Wow, it looks like it's all gold.

Is the brain like a camera?

UTA: Oh no, the brain is interpreting messages all the time, so it's not at all like a camera. We receive things through our eyes and other senses but what

matters is what we think a thing really is. And this is perception.

Okay, let's go and have a look at something else.

Look here, that's Oliver Cromwell.

GIRL: Do we learn things by copying?

UTA: Yes, we learn most from those people or things that we trust. Because these objects are in the museum we look up to them, we've learnt to trust them.

They can ignite our interest. Our brain runs a cycle between exploring new things and using what it already knows. This is good for your brain, this kind of

exploration and learning. It's like excersise.

GIRL: Look at all those books!

UTA: Yes, in this museum there are not only these wonderful objects, there are also books about the objects. And it's a little bit like the brain where we

have lots of memories stored, but also memories about memories.

GIRL: So is the brain a bit like a museum?

UTA: Or the museum is a bit like a brain. The museum puts things in order and creates meaning, and it stores things for us to remember. And there are all

these galleries which communicate with us just like the conscious part of the brain communicates with other people. And lots of people at work behind the

scenes process all these beautiful objects that we can then see. So there's lots of stuff going on in our unconscious mind so that we can then enjoy all the

conscious things.

What happens when we're learning is that our brain makes guesses and then it sends out tests to check if its predictions are right. And all this happens

without our knowing.

GIRL: Look at that painting, it looks like he's getting a piggy back!

UTA: What is it telling you?

GIRL: This man is giving his little boy a piggy back and it looks really fun.

UTA: That's interesting. Do you know what's happening? Your brain is interpreting the picture. Your brain is asking itself 'what is the intention of the

artist?' It's called 'Henry the Fourth, the Dauphin - his son - and the Spanish Ambassador', and what the painter wanted to do was to show what a fun Dad

this King Henry was.   

GIRL: How do we understand what pictures and objects mean? Does our brain ask itself questions?

UTA: Yes, exactly. Our brain has this constant conversation going on. It asks questions and that's how we get answers. That's how the brain learns. It's just

like you and me having this conversation now - we are learning from each other.

Don't look!

GIRL: Okay, what are you doing?

UTA: I'm going to show you about expectation. So let's do a little experiment. What do you think this is?

GIRL: I can see a little curly tail. I think it's a pig.

UTA: Ah, good guess. Now take your hands away - and it's not a pig.  

GIRL: No.

UTA: But your brain did right, your brain interpreted this. It's what we expect to see. But, in fact, now you know it's a bull. Mistakes are important, they

tell us things too. When you do an experiment and your expectations do not work out you can learn a lot.

GIRL: These must have been for really important people like the king or queen.

UTA: How right. These are really symbols of power. Of course they are very precious objects too because they're made of silver and they're very ornate and

very difficult to make. But the reason we like them and why we treasure them in the museum is of course because they mean such powerful things. They belonged

to the very powerful people.  

In the museum you can explore and discover for yourself, you can open doors for yourself. You learn in different ways, you learn from other people, from the

labels and by just asking yourself questions.

Value is partly to do with how society sees itself, and how we see ourselves. But it's important to our brain for something that is valued to be the real

thing, to be genuine.

GIRL: That looks scary!

UTA: It looks a bit scary, but do you know what? I read just there that this leopard is not an original, it's a copy. And the real leopard is actually in

Moscow.  

But it's funny, our brain thinks that a copy is not as valuable, it's not quite the same as the real thing. It's very important for us to know and to trust

that all the objects in the museum are really originals.

GIRL: Hey look, it's dark outside. It must be time for your lecture now.

UTA: Here it is, that's the auditorium. Are you coming? Are you curious?