Skip to main content

Ad

technologyCulture and Societytechnologypsychology
clock-iconPUBLISHEDOctober 7, 2022
comments icon1
share17

IFLScience The Big Questions: How Does Imagination Work?

Come with us and you'll be in a world of pure imagination - working out where abstract thinking comes from.

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti headshot

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.

Space & Physics Editor

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.View full profile

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London.

View full profile
The IFLScience The Big Questions podcast logo, a head with earphones that have question marks on them
How do our brains conjure up things we're not actually seeing? We speak to a cognitive scientist to find out. Image credit: IFLScience

Every second of every day, whether we’re actively aware of it or not, we’re using our imagination: from what we might have for dinner to life on other worlds. But how can our brains conjure up stuff that we are not looking at or even images of things that don’t exist? Our host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by cognitive scientist Professor Tyler Marghetis from the University of California, Merced to discuss how imagination works, how we can have "Eureka!" moments, and if imagination works the same for everyone.

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more. A transcript of the conversation is available here.


Add us as a Google preferred source to see more of our
trusted coverage in Search