What makes us human?

Time is the fourth dimension but feels very unlike space. Why did lockdown feel an eternity at the time, but now almost like it never happened? Does time really go faster as you get older? Why is such a premium placed upon watches or the Corpus Clock? This talk will start with a brief romp through the psychology of time. We will then spend several moments examining time telling devices, and how they are used to structure society, coordinate behaviour and even politically dominate. Finally, we’ll spend the last few minutes considering how much time each of us has left, and what to do with it.

James first came to Cambridge in 2015 to study Psychological and Behavioural Sciences as an undergraduate. He stayed in Cambridge for his Master’s and PhD, which he is just completing. James’ work focuses on how ancient humans evolved the capacity for language.

Human intelligence is one of the most powerful forces shaping events on our planet. But how does it work, with all its brilliance and all its limits, and how is it built in the human brain? From “intelligence testing” to brain imaging to artificial intelligence to populations of neurons, modern science explains this core of the human mind.

John Duncan is a Research Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, where he has worked since 1978. His research addresses the neural mechanisms of attention, intelligence and complex problem solving, combining cognitive science with human brain imaging and macaque physiology. Duncan is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the British Academy, and winner of the 2012 Heineken Prize in Cognitive Science. He is author of the popular science book How intelligence happens.