Sergio Della Sala

The much-admired Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, Sergio Della Sala takes us on a highly amusing and accessible journey, exploring the myths and beliefs about our brain. Can mind conquer matter and diseases? Are out-of-body experiences possible? For the answers to these questions and more, watch these filmed highlights of his 2007 Book Festival event.

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Juliana Buhring (2017 event) Juliana Buhring (2017 event) Feats of human endurance never cease to amaze and enthral. In 2012, against all odds, Juliana Buhring became the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a bike, after very little training and with barely any financial backing. In this event filmed live… Jessie Greengrass & Gwendoline Riley: The Agony of Love Jessie Greengrass & Gwendoline Riley: The Agony of Love ‘Jessie Greengrass makes words dance. And she makes me want to stand up and dance with them.’ Elif Shafak’s selection of Greengrass as one of ten exciting women writers in the UK coincides neatly with the publication of her second novel, The High House –… George Alagiah speaks to Allan Little at the Edinburgh International Book Festival George Alagiah speaks to Allan Little at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Join popular BBC broadcaster George Alagiah as he takes off his reporting hat and plunges into a new career as political thriller writer, drawing on his knowledge and experience of working in Africa. The Burning Land sees South Africa torn apart by… Generations: Allan Little & Jen Stout Generations: Allan Little & Jen Stout Veteran BBC correspondent Allan Little is joined by Jen Stout, a journalist, radio producer, and author. Together they compare notes of their experience of journalism across the generations. Chaired by Caroline Eden… Kehinde Andrews, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff & Marcus Ryder: A Celebration of Black Lives Kehinde Andrews, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff & Marcus Ryder: A Celebration of Black Lives George Floyd’s murder by a white police officer in the US sparked Britain’s largest wave of protests against racism. Black British Lives Matter is a collection of essays gathered by equality advocate Marcus Ryder and his co-editor Lenny Henry. They honour… Join us this August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Join us this August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Explore the world, in words at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The biggest public celebration of words and stories in the world, the Book Festival takes place every August in the heart of Scotland's capital. With hundreds of events featuring… James Crawford: Traces of the Past James Crawford: Traces of the Past The search for hidden landscapes drives the work of Shetland-born author James Crawford, whose books have explored borders, lost buildings, and – in conjunction with his BBC series Scotland from the Sky – the views revealed by photography from the air… Thomas Harding & Kojo Koram: What Was Taken? Thomas Harding & Kojo Koram: What Was Taken? Inspired by a personal quest to learn more about Britain’s role in the slave trade, Thomas Harding tells the story of the Demerara Uprising, a key trigger in the abolition of slavery, in White Debt. In Uncommon Wealth, Kojo Koram traces the group of… Jed Mercurio & Prasanna Puwanarajah: The Bionic Policeman Jed Mercurio & Prasanna Puwanarajah: The Bionic Policeman If you were one of the millions of people captivated by hit TV police thriller Line of Duty, the name of its creator and screenwriter Jed Mercurio will be very familiar. Now Mercurio has teamed up with actor, writer and director Prasanna Puwanarajah and… Francis Spufford: Lives They May Have Led Francis Spufford: Lives They May Have Led The opening chapter of Francis Spufford’s new novel Light Perpetual will leave an indelible mark on the imagination of anyone who reads it. Over just a few pages, Spufford smashes time to smithereens, parcelling it into a stop-motion sequence of images…