With 12 Essential Scientific Concepts, finally satisfy your desire for scientific inquiry in a way that makes this enormous field accessible, understandable, and undeniably captivating. Indre Viskontas, an award-winning cognitive neuroscientist affiliated with the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, has a knack for making hard science clear to laypeople. She boils down the scientific world into 12 key concepts every educated person should know. Devoting two lectures to each concept to give you more time to engage with it, her 24-lecture course is your introduction to everything from the behavior of subatomic particles to the latest theories about the Big Bang.
12 Essential Scientific Concepts
Explore 12 of science's bedrock ideas in this course that introduces you to exciting fields like quantum theory, emergence, thermodynamics, and brain plasticity.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dave472 from
Excellent Presentation
Topics explained very well. Enjoyed them all. Thanks.
Date published: 2024-03-15
Rated 5 out of
5
by
london2000 from
A wonderful course
This course is excellent despite being put together in 2014, nine years before I watched it. Possibly because of her opera singing background, Indre is a very professional presenter who speaks clearly, fluently and expressively. Over the course of 24 lectures, she does a sound job of discussing a very diverse range of topics.
Perhaps, in some ways, I felt the scope of the course was too ambitious, and it must certainly help if the viewer already has some background knowledge of the various subject matters. Those with a non-scientific background may struggle with some of the material.
I thought Indre was at her strongest when discussing neuroscience, which is her professional field, but she also did a good job of quantum mechanics and emergence. I felt she was at her weakest in trying to explain thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. And trying to cover cellular metabolism in half-hour was probably an impossible task!
However, these are minor quibbles and overall this was a 5-star course.
Date published: 2023-12-13
Rated 1 out of
5
by
paty54 from
12 Essential Concepts
She does not use nearly enough visual aids and she doesn't use them well. No videos to explain some of these complex concepts. She paces around too much, it gets distracting at some points. If you want to see someone teach complex scientific concepts well watch, "Epic Engineering Failures" at your site.
Date published: 2023-11-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
CatherineS from
Great speaker
One of the courses that I enjoyed the most so far!
Indre is a great speaker, very engaging, capable of capturing the attention of her audience and keep it.
Date published: 2023-08-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Nature of matter from
12 essential scientific concepts
Amazing course. It’s very well explained. I highly recommend this course
Date published: 2022-12-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
ByJoel from
Wonderfully presented Scientific Principles
The Scientific principles were presented in an interesting and professional manner. Loved the course!
Date published: 2022-11-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
ch123 from
Learned A Lot
I learned a lot about a lot of different subjects. The instructor is very well spoken and articulate.
Date published: 2022-10-17
Rated 3 out of
5
by
frankb60516 from
essential scientific concepts
all their programs do not have closed captions, subtitles
Date published: 2022-09-22
Overview
About
Indre Viskontas is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of San Francisco, where she runs the Creative Brain Lab. She earned a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has published more than 50 original papers and chapters related to the neural basis of memory and creativity. A passionate science communicator, she has appeared on major TV and radio programs and hosts the popular science podcast Inquiring Minds as well as the podcast Cadence: What Music Tells Us about the Mind.
Trailer
01: The Miracle of Life
To truly understand what makes life special, you have to understand the fundamental makeup of life. In this first lecture, investigate the basic chemistry of living organisms, from the fundamental importance of water and carbon to the critical functions of proteins-the molecules that allow cells to survive, reproduce, and adapt.
34 min
02: The Organization of Life
Turn now to cells and the intricate organization of life. As you take an in-depth tour of eukaryotic cells (the kind your body is made of), you'll learn how to make sense of mitochondria, lysosomes, and other cell parts. You'll also see cellular organization at work in everything from making proteins to generating energy.
29 min
03: Evolution-The Tireless Tinkerer
Today, Charles Darwin's landmark theory of evolution is biology's fundamental organizing principle. So how did this revolutionary idea come about, and what were its roots? What scientific evidence proves the fundamental importance of evolution? What do antibiotics reveal about how the tireless tinkering of natural selection works in everyday life?
30 min
04: Other Mechanisms of Evolution
Explore some alternative mechanisms through which species can change, including genetic drift and gene flow, and the key role allele frequency plays in our understanding of evolution. You'll also examine the Hardy-Weinberg principle, used by evolutionary scientists to determine whether a population is actually evolving, and which mechanisms are driving the evolution.
31 min
05: DNA and Heritability
Professor Viskontas takes you back to the birth of genetics through the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel. Then, she shows you how to understand DNA as a simple code read by cells to produce new cellular components. And finally, she breaks down the complexities of how genes express themselves: through the generation of proteins.
30 min
06: Epigenetics, Mutations, and Gene Insertion
It turns out that our genes aren't fixed but change across our lifespans. In this fascinating lecture, investigate three major ways in which that happens: epigenetics, the modification of gene expression through environmental changes; mutations, which involve alterations in the genetic code; and gene insertion, in which viruses play a surprising role.
31 min
07: The Illusion of Coherence-How We See
The way you see is modular-but your consciousness is coherent. How is this possible? To answer this perplexing question, you'll explore the biology of the eye and investigate the curious "binding problem" at the heart of the intersection between neural physiology, cognition, and the philosophy of consciousness.
29 min
08: Acoustic Perception Deconstructed
First, get a better understanding of how our ears are built, and how that construction affects the hearing process. Then, learn why hearing loss offers the perfect demonstration of just how complex this process is. Finally, consider the essential subjectivity of pitch and how hearing and sight interact with one another.
30 min
09: Our Changing Brain
Science has revealed that our brains actually change shape over time. But how? Where in the brain does this occur? How are memories created? What is the relationship between brain plasticity and learning (or unlearning) skills and habits? These are just four of the many questions you'll encounter in this first lecture on neuroplasticity.
29 min
10: Plasticity, Brain Training, and Beyond
Delve deeper into the implications of neuroplasticity, and how we can harness its power to stave off the cognitive effects of aging, recover from disease, and master complex skills. The secrets lie in specific parts of the brain, like the hippocampus and specific proteins, like the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.
31 min
11: Magnetism and Its Magic
Magnetism is undoubtedly a strange aspect of the scientific world. Here, Professor Viskontas reveals what we know (and have yet to uncover) about magnets and how they work. You'll learn what makes a magnet magnetic, how spinning electrons create magnetic fields, the secrets of ferromagnetism, and much more.
28 min
12: Electrical Forces, Fields, and Circuits
To truly understand magnetism, you have to understand its cousin: electricity. First, get a primer on the basics of electricity. Then, explore the concept of electric potential (a combination of an object's electric charge and its position to other charged objects) and find out how electric circuits actually work in the human body and beyond.
28 min
13: Thermodynamics-Heat, Energy, and Work
Explore the concept of power in the inanimate world-as predicted through the three fascinating laws of thermodynamics (which describe the relationship between heat and work). Along the way, you'll understand how an ideal engine works and witness thermodynamics in action through the famous examples of steam and internal combustion engines.
29 min
14: Metabolism-Energy in the Cell
See how the laws of thermodynamics apply to metabolism, the energy exchanges between cells that keep us alive. Explore the inner workings of metabolism with detailed investigations of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Learn how metabolism plays a role in today's metabolic engineering, a process by which we harness single-celled organisms to create useful products.
31 min
15: Fluid Mechanics-Pressure, Buoyancy, Flow
Professor Viskontas offers you a clear explanation of how aerodynamics (or fluid mechanics) works. Central to this illuminating lecture: the opportunity to finally make sense of the fundamentals of this scientific concept, including buoyant force, the relationship between pressure and depth, Bernoulli's equation, and the equation of continuity.
28 min
16: Navigation and Propulsion in Fluids
How has our greater scientific understanding of fluid mechanics given us the tools to move (and dominate) the land, sea, and air? How do we power the machines that allow us to do so? What's the difference between form drag and skin friction? What's actually happening when your plane hits turbulence?
30 min
17: The Big Bang That Didn't
Travel back to the very start of time and navigate the murky-but undeniably eye-opening-science behind the Big Bang. As you evaluate this scientific theory by considering the evidence available, you'll also ponder three ways the universe could end: the Big Crunch, the Big Freeze, and the Big Rip.
29 min
18: The Four Forces of Nature
Explore the four fundamental forces of nature, which scientists believe have guided the formation, expansion, and essence of our universe since it began. Not only will you learn the nuances of the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and gravity-you'll learn the practical implications this knowledge has given us.
32 min
19: The Elements of Everything
Break down the elements of the periodic table and discover how it explains why elements behave the way they do-and points the way to elements that we have yet to discover. Afterward, peek inside the atom and explore subatomic particles, including fermions and the long-elusive Higgs boson.
29 min
20: Looks like a Particle, Acts like a Wave
Is light a wave or a particle? To find the answer, comb through revolutionary ideas by Max Planck and Albert Einstein to encounter the wave-particle duality (a paradox best captured by the famous Heisenberg principle). Then, investigate some of the applications of this duality, specifically through the development and use of lasers.
30 min
21: Quanta, Uncertainty, and a Cat
Quantum mechanics is full of strange contradictions, including a cat that is simultaneously alive and dead. Professor Viskontas introduces you to the Copenhagen Interpretation-the most popular (though still not universally accepted) way to think about this field. You'll also consider some of quantum mechanics' remarkable applications, from nanoscience to quantum computing.
31 min
22: String Theory, Membranes, and the Multiverse
What exactly is string theory? What can M-theory and the behavior of black holes reveal about it? How does the theory of Loop Quantum Gravity explain how gravity works at the quantum level? Answers to all this and more are here in this lecture on a mind-bending scientific concept.
31 min
23: Emergence-Simple Rules, Complex Systems
The science of emergence explains how simple agents together perform complex feats that are impossible for individual agents to accomplish on their own. Consider what emergence can tell us about seemingly chaotic scenarios through several case studies from wildlife, including ant colonies and flocks of birds.
31 min
24: Order out of Chaos
Continue your look at the most interesting ideas in emergence. First, learn about artificial intelligence and social robotics. Then, ponder the rise of the theory of mind and human self-awareness. Finally, discover how modern cities are emergent structures-and how we play the role of the simple agents that make them function.
32 min
