1 00:00:01,653 --> 00:00:03,438 WILLIAM SHATNER: Mental abilities 2 00:00:03,481 --> 00:00:06,484 faster than those of any computer. 3 00:00:06,528 --> 00:00:10,836 Senses that can extend far beyond the human body. 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,231 And a person who can play the piano like a Mozart 5 00:00:14,275 --> 00:00:16,712 without ever taking a lesson. 6 00:00:19,497 --> 00:00:24,024 There are those who believe the human brain has more potential 7 00:00:24,067 --> 00:00:27,070 than even the brain itself can imagine, 8 00:00:27,114 --> 00:00:32,597 and that its true capabilities might be limitless. 9 00:00:32,641 --> 00:00:38,299 In some ways, we know more about the far reaches of the galaxy 10 00:00:38,342 --> 00:00:41,606 than we do about the human mind. 11 00:00:41,650 --> 00:00:44,392 How does the brain work, for example? 12 00:00:44,435 --> 00:00:47,917 Where does genius come from? 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,834 And can a person actually see something 14 00:00:51,877 --> 00:00:54,837 halfway around the world 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,798 using only the power of their thoughts, for instance? 16 00:00:59,842 --> 00:01:02,584 Well... 17 00:01:02,627 --> 00:01:05,326 that is what we'll try and find out. 18 00:01:05,369 --> 00:01:07,284 ♪ 19 00:01:21,298 --> 00:01:23,083 Seattle, Washington. 20 00:01:23,126 --> 00:01:25,737 November 2004. 21 00:01:25,781 --> 00:01:29,480 Researchers working at the University of Washington's 22 00:01:29,524 --> 00:01:32,092 Institute for Learning and Brain Science 23 00:01:32,135 --> 00:01:35,486 publish the results of a study about the remarkable ability 24 00:01:35,530 --> 00:01:39,273 that babies have to learn any language. 25 00:01:39,316 --> 00:01:41,579 Their conclusion: 26 00:01:41,623 --> 00:01:44,539 The smartest you'll ever be in your life... 27 00:01:44,582 --> 00:01:48,195 -[baby crying] -...is the day you are born. 28 00:01:48,238 --> 00:01:51,546 JOANNE RUTHSATZ: The research shows that newborn babies are amazing. 29 00:01:51,589 --> 00:01:55,158 They come into this world really able to adjust 30 00:01:55,202 --> 00:01:57,160 to the stimuli that they receive. 31 00:01:57,204 --> 00:01:59,162 [baby laughing] 32 00:01:59,206 --> 00:02:00,990 JUDY HO: All of the world's languages 33 00:02:01,033 --> 00:02:03,862 compose of about 800 different types of language sounds. 34 00:02:03,906 --> 00:02:07,475 And as adults, we pretty much only utilize about 40 sounds. 35 00:02:07,518 --> 00:02:09,216 However, when you're a baby, 36 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:11,696 you can actually hear and distinguish the difference 37 00:02:11,740 --> 00:02:14,873 between all 800 sounds. 38 00:02:14,917 --> 00:02:17,006 MICHIO KAKU: It turns out that babies 39 00:02:17,049 --> 00:02:19,704 are hardwired from birth 40 00:02:19,748 --> 00:02:23,055 to have certain forms of awareness. 41 00:02:23,099 --> 00:02:26,058 When children babble, it's just not ordinary babble. 42 00:02:26,102 --> 00:02:27,538 [baby babbling] 43 00:02:27,582 --> 00:02:29,584 You put a tape recorder in the crib 44 00:02:29,627 --> 00:02:33,283 and you listen to the babbling and you realize that the baby 45 00:02:33,327 --> 00:02:37,505 is saying the same word over and over and over again, 46 00:02:37,548 --> 00:02:39,637 that it hears random sounds 47 00:02:39,681 --> 00:02:42,118 that it repeats until it perfects it, 48 00:02:42,162 --> 00:02:45,861 -until it gets it right. -[babbles]: Mama. 49 00:02:45,904 --> 00:02:47,819 Looking at the infant brain, 50 00:02:47,863 --> 00:02:51,127 it's like you're looking at the world's most complicated sponge, 51 00:02:51,171 --> 00:02:52,694 and then you're seeing how much information 52 00:02:52,737 --> 00:02:54,217 can it actually soak up 53 00:02:54,261 --> 00:02:56,611 and how much of it gets drained out over time 54 00:02:56,654 --> 00:03:00,571 as the brain begins to develop into the brains of adults. 55 00:03:00,615 --> 00:03:05,968 HO: Newborn babies have over 100 thousand billion neurons, 56 00:03:06,011 --> 00:03:07,970 which is twice as much as an adult brain, 57 00:03:08,013 --> 00:03:10,581 even though their brain is so teeny tiny. 58 00:03:10,625 --> 00:03:13,976 Later on, the neurons do prune away, 59 00:03:14,019 --> 00:03:15,934 but in the beginning, basically, 60 00:03:15,978 --> 00:03:18,720 the entire world is possible for babies. 61 00:03:18,763 --> 00:03:20,809 But we don't know why certain parts of the brain 62 00:03:20,852 --> 00:03:22,419 are just not accessible to you as an adult. 63 00:03:24,726 --> 00:03:28,338 SHATNER: The brain: nature's computer. 64 00:03:28,382 --> 00:03:31,341 After millions of years of evolution, 65 00:03:31,385 --> 00:03:33,996 thousands of years of recorded history, 66 00:03:34,039 --> 00:03:37,826 and hundreds of years of scientific research, 67 00:03:37,869 --> 00:03:40,524 you might think we already know everything there is to know 68 00:03:40,568 --> 00:03:44,006 about one of the body's most critically important organs. 69 00:03:44,049 --> 00:03:46,791 But, the truth is, 70 00:03:46,835 --> 00:03:49,359 we don't. 71 00:03:49,403 --> 00:03:51,666 I'm a scientist, and therefore 72 00:03:51,709 --> 00:03:55,757 I'm attracted to things that are mysterious, 73 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,934 and what are the two greatest, most mysterious questions 74 00:03:58,977 --> 00:04:01,023 in all of science? 75 00:04:01,066 --> 00:04:04,244 One is the creation of the universe. 76 00:04:04,287 --> 00:04:06,637 [explosive whooshing] 77 00:04:06,681 --> 00:04:09,118 Why are we here? 78 00:04:09,161 --> 00:04:11,251 The second great mystery is 79 00:04:11,294 --> 00:04:14,297 when you look in the mirror, you say to yourself, 80 00:04:14,341 --> 00:04:16,908 "What lurks behind those eyes? 81 00:04:16,952 --> 00:04:19,563 Why am I conscious?" 82 00:04:19,607 --> 00:04:22,349 And then you begin to realize that the brain 83 00:04:22,392 --> 00:04:26,744 is the most complex object in the known universe. 84 00:04:28,790 --> 00:04:30,792 RAMIREZ: I think one of the most unexplained 85 00:04:30,835 --> 00:04:34,535 phenomenon that exists in the brain is how 86 00:04:34,578 --> 00:04:38,147 it stores, processes and retrieves information. 87 00:04:38,190 --> 00:04:40,323 Every breath, every experience, every interaction, 88 00:04:40,367 --> 00:04:42,194 every night of sleep, every cup of coffee, 89 00:04:42,238 --> 00:04:44,284 all of that changes your brain, 90 00:04:44,327 --> 00:04:47,548 and yet your sense of self remains pretty intact. 91 00:04:47,591 --> 00:04:50,812 So how the brain holds on to that information, 92 00:04:50,855 --> 00:04:53,945 how it uses that information to actually engage in the world, 93 00:04:53,989 --> 00:04:56,687 is a wonderfully complicated problem. 94 00:04:56,731 --> 00:04:58,733 We know a lot about the anatomy 95 00:04:58,776 --> 00:05:01,388 of different parts of the brain in great detail. 96 00:05:01,431 --> 00:05:04,695 What the functions are is another thing. 97 00:05:04,739 --> 00:05:08,786 For example, there's an area called "area 25," 98 00:05:08,830 --> 00:05:11,659 and this area is turned on in people all the time 99 00:05:11,702 --> 00:05:13,182 who are chronically depressed. 100 00:05:13,225 --> 00:05:14,966 And it's just a small area, 101 00:05:15,010 --> 00:05:17,229 but that small area's connected to a lot of other areas. 102 00:05:17,273 --> 00:05:19,144 It's like Grand Central Station. 103 00:05:19,188 --> 00:05:21,059 So it's not just the area but everything passing through 104 00:05:21,103 --> 00:05:23,323 and by there in this whole circuit, and so, 105 00:05:23,366 --> 00:05:25,412 it's more than just complicated or complex, 106 00:05:25,455 --> 00:05:27,979 it's-it's still kind of mysterious that way. 107 00:05:28,023 --> 00:05:31,026 SUSAN SCHNEIDER: Consciousness, in particular, 108 00:05:31,069 --> 00:05:33,985 is tremendously mysterious. 109 00:05:34,029 --> 00:05:36,336 Neuroscientists still don't understand 110 00:05:36,379 --> 00:05:38,555 the neural basis of consciousness. 111 00:05:38,599 --> 00:05:40,427 And philosophers have pointed out 112 00:05:40,470 --> 00:05:43,038 that, even given the fact that the brain 113 00:05:43,081 --> 00:05:45,475 is an information processing unit 114 00:05:45,519 --> 00:05:48,130 of great sophistication, it doesn't make sense why 115 00:05:48,173 --> 00:05:50,872 it needs to feel like anything to be us. 116 00:05:50,915 --> 00:05:53,440 And, ironically, when we're studying it, 117 00:05:53,483 --> 00:05:55,311 we're studying it from within the confines 118 00:05:55,355 --> 00:05:56,791 of the brain itself. 119 00:05:59,228 --> 00:06:01,186 SHATNER: Perhaps the best illustration of how little we know 120 00:06:01,230 --> 00:06:03,841 about the human brain's inner workings 121 00:06:03,885 --> 00:06:07,410 involves an incident that happened almost 200 years ago. 122 00:06:07,454 --> 00:06:09,978 It was a case in which a man lost a large portion 123 00:06:10,021 --> 00:06:13,634 of his brain in a horrific accident 124 00:06:13,677 --> 00:06:17,551 and, inexplicably, survived. 125 00:06:19,814 --> 00:06:21,685 In 1848, 126 00:06:21,729 --> 00:06:26,908 there was a railroad crew led by a man name Phineas Gage. 127 00:06:29,693 --> 00:06:32,566 e day, an explosive went off accidentally, 128 00:06:32,609 --> 00:06:35,307 and a metal rod three feet long 129 00:06:35,351 --> 00:06:39,703 hurled right into his face, 130 00:06:39,747 --> 00:06:42,663 coming out of his skull, 131 00:06:42,706 --> 00:06:45,753 landing 80 feet into the distance. 132 00:06:47,581 --> 00:06:51,454 Everybody thought that he was an immediate goner, 133 00:06:51,498 --> 00:06:53,935 but he remained incredibly calm. 134 00:06:53,978 --> 00:06:55,806 He was even talking normally, 135 00:06:55,850 --> 00:06:57,982 even though, apparently, parts of his brain 136 00:06:58,026 --> 00:07:00,420 were even coming out the top of his head. 137 00:07:00,463 --> 00:07:02,726 Phineas Gage was just sitting up talking, 138 00:07:02,770 --> 00:07:05,294 right after this thing blew through the top of his skull, 139 00:07:05,337 --> 00:07:07,862 which seems impossible. 140 00:07:07,905 --> 00:07:11,431 MICHAEL DENNIN: He had a pole basically shoot in one side up through his jaw 141 00:07:11,474 --> 00:07:12,867 and out of his brain. 142 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:14,956 Made a significantly large hole in his brain, 143 00:07:14,999 --> 00:07:16,479 caused a lot of damage, 144 00:07:16,523 --> 00:07:18,394 particularly to the frontal part of his brain. 145 00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:22,137 And yet, he both survived and remained functioning. 146 00:07:22,180 --> 00:07:25,749 So I would argue it's evidence for how complex the brain is. 147 00:07:30,014 --> 00:07:32,364 SHATNER: After his accident, 148 00:07:32,408 --> 00:07:35,367 Phineas Gage lived for another 12 years. 149 00:07:35,411 --> 00:07:38,414 By all accounts, he was able to lead a relatively normal life, 150 00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:41,504 despite his devastating brain injury. 151 00:07:41,548 --> 00:07:43,593 But how? 152 00:07:43,637 --> 00:07:47,728 How was his brain able to compensate and function 153 00:07:47,771 --> 00:07:49,773 when parts of it had been severely damaged 154 00:07:49,817 --> 00:07:51,775 and even destroyed? 155 00:07:51,819 --> 00:07:54,430 It's a question that, 156 00:07:54,474 --> 00:07:56,824 despite everything we continue to learn about the brain 157 00:07:56,867 --> 00:07:58,434 and its capabilities, 158 00:07:58,478 --> 00:08:01,959 we currently don't have the answer. 159 00:08:04,266 --> 00:08:07,138 KAKU: The brain is a learning machine 160 00:08:07,182 --> 00:08:11,403 that rewires itself after learning every task. 161 00:08:11,447 --> 00:08:15,016 So you were slightly different than you were a few seconds ago 162 00:08:15,059 --> 00:08:16,974 before you learned something 163 00:08:17,018 --> 00:08:18,715 'cause the brain has incorporated that learning 164 00:08:18,759 --> 00:08:20,674 into its network. 165 00:08:20,717 --> 00:08:23,546 And that's why I think that we'll never really learn 166 00:08:23,590 --> 00:08:25,853 everything about the brain, 167 00:08:25,896 --> 00:08:28,725 because the brain changes with time. 168 00:08:28,769 --> 00:08:30,597 HO: If we look back 100 years from now, 169 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,686 I'm sure there's still more to find out, 170 00:08:32,729 --> 00:08:35,036 and we might feel like some of the things that we're doing now 171 00:08:35,079 --> 00:08:38,953 are prehistoric and perhaps somewhat misinformed. 172 00:08:38,996 --> 00:08:41,608 SCHNEIDER: The brain is so complicated and its functions 173 00:08:41,651 --> 00:08:46,700 are so intricate that, at this stage of the study of the brain, 174 00:08:46,743 --> 00:08:51,008 we wonder if we even know the right questions to ask. 175 00:08:53,358 --> 00:08:55,883 SHATNER: Is the human brain simply too complicated 176 00:08:55,926 --> 00:08:58,189 for us to fully understand? 177 00:08:58,233 --> 00:09:02,454 Or can we learn more about the brain's amazing capabilities 178 00:09:02,498 --> 00:09:04,239 by examining people 179 00:09:04,282 --> 00:09:09,636 not with abnormal brains but with exceptional ones, 180 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,727 individuals with almost superhuman mental abilities 181 00:09:13,770 --> 00:09:17,774 who are also known as geniuses? 182 00:09:22,562 --> 00:09:24,651 SHATNER: The University of California, Davis. 183 00:09:24,694 --> 00:09:26,870 June 2018. 184 00:09:26,914 --> 00:09:30,265 Tanishq Abraham receives his bachelor's degree 185 00:09:30,308 --> 00:09:32,267 with highest honors. 186 00:09:32,310 --> 00:09:35,792 But unlike the other graduates picking up their diplomas, 187 00:09:35,836 --> 00:09:38,969 Tanishq is only 15 years old. 188 00:09:53,897 --> 00:09:57,074 And then from there on, we kind of figured, yeah, 189 00:09:57,118 --> 00:09:58,685 he-he's getting the hang of this, 190 00:09:58,728 --> 00:10:00,469 and so we start introducing new concepts to him. 191 00:10:11,219 --> 00:10:14,483 BIJOU ABRAHAM: When Tanishq was four years old, we took his IQ test. 192 00:10:14,526 --> 00:10:17,399 He had such a high IQ score, I-I don't think I knew anybody 193 00:10:17,442 --> 00:10:19,836 who-who had that-that high of an IQ score personally, 194 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:21,446 so that's when I realized 195 00:10:21,490 --> 00:10:23,448 there's something unusual about this kid. 196 00:10:33,328 --> 00:10:35,939 TANISHQ ABRAHAM: I actually want to go to medical school 197 00:10:35,983 --> 00:10:37,767 and become a doctor, 198 00:10:37,811 --> 00:10:41,205 and I want to become a physician scientist. 199 00:10:41,249 --> 00:10:44,121 I know that I have a talent, and I want to put it to good use. 200 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:50,519 SHATNER: What makes Tanishq Abraham's mind different 201 00:10:50,562 --> 00:10:53,043 from everyone else's? 202 00:10:53,087 --> 00:10:55,742 Although scientists have been studying child prodigies 203 00:10:55,785 --> 00:10:58,135 like Tanishq for years, 204 00:10:58,179 --> 00:11:00,529 they still don't really have an explanation. 205 00:11:00,572 --> 00:11:02,270 And in his case, 206 00:11:02,313 --> 00:11:04,446 an explanation is further complicated 207 00:11:04,489 --> 00:11:09,146 by the fact that Tanishq isn't the only genius in his family. 208 00:11:12,062 --> 00:11:14,848 BIJOU ABRAHAM: Tiara started singing at a really young age. 209 00:11:14,891 --> 00:11:16,719 She started out singing, like, simple songs, 210 00:11:16,763 --> 00:11:18,503 like "Happy Birthday" and-and things like that, 211 00:11:18,547 --> 00:11:20,331 but she sang in an opera style, 212 00:11:20,375 --> 00:11:23,595 and so we'd go and ask musicians, "Is that normal?" 213 00:11:23,639 --> 00:11:25,336 And they were like, "That's not normal." So... 214 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:28,035 That's when we felt, okay, we have a different type 215 00:11:28,078 --> 00:11:29,689 of prodigy on our hands, 216 00:11:29,732 --> 00:11:32,169 not the highly scientific intellect type, 217 00:11:32,213 --> 00:11:34,998 but Tiara has her prodigy more in the arts, 218 00:11:35,042 --> 00:11:37,435 and she has a really amazing memory. 219 00:11:37,479 --> 00:11:40,569 TIARA ABRAHAM: I've learned six languages, 220 00:11:40,612 --> 00:11:44,747 including Spanish, French, Italian and German. 221 00:11:44,791 --> 00:11:49,970 And just for fun, I memorized around 550 digits of pi. 222 00:11:50,013 --> 00:11:51,841 It's amazing that, in a short amount of time, 223 00:11:51,885 --> 00:11:53,364 she was able to memorize those numbers. 224 00:11:53,408 --> 00:11:56,411 She kind of described it like dance programs, 225 00:11:56,454 --> 00:11:58,021 where the notes start scrolling down. 226 00:11:58,065 --> 00:11:59,631 And that's how she feels, she said. 227 00:11:59,675 --> 00:12:01,242 The numbers, they're just scrolling by, 228 00:12:01,285 --> 00:12:02,634 and she just starts reciting them. 229 00:12:02,678 --> 00:12:05,942 3.141592653589 230 00:12:05,986 --> 00:12:08,597 793238462643383 231 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,426 2795028841971 232 00:12:11,469 --> 00:12:13,689 6939927510582 233 00:12:13,733 --> 00:12:15,256 097494459. 234 00:12:22,524 --> 00:12:24,569 [laughs] 235 00:12:24,613 --> 00:12:27,355 HO: People don't even agree on the definition of what a genius is. 236 00:12:27,398 --> 00:12:29,139 We know that it's not hereditary, 237 00:12:29,183 --> 00:12:30,880 like the way your eye color is. 238 00:12:30,924 --> 00:12:34,231 And so, really, many times, people who are defined 239 00:12:34,275 --> 00:12:36,799 or talked about as geniuses, they do come from famies 240 00:12:36,843 --> 00:12:38,975 with parents with normal I.Q. 241 00:12:39,019 --> 00:12:40,890 And so, I don't think we know very much 242 00:12:40,934 --> 00:12:43,153 about exactly why genius occurs. 243 00:12:43,197 --> 00:12:44,981 TRAVIS TAYLOR: What's so special about these kids? 244 00:12:45,025 --> 00:12:48,550 Why is it that their brain developed in such a way 245 00:12:48,593 --> 00:12:51,814 that they can solve problems or understand things 246 00:12:51,858 --> 00:12:54,251 that adults take years to do? 247 00:12:54,295 --> 00:12:57,820 We need to understand why and how this is happening, 248 00:12:57,864 --> 00:13:00,692 and then maybe we can all tap into that type of power. 249 00:13:03,478 --> 00:13:06,089 SHATNER: Is it possible that the potential for genius 250 00:13:06,133 --> 00:13:09,310 lies within each and every one of us, 251 00:13:09,353 --> 00:13:13,401 somewhere deep within each of our brains? 252 00:13:13,444 --> 00:13:16,447 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining 253 00:13:16,491 --> 00:13:19,494 the case of a man who wasn't born a genius, 254 00:13:19,537 --> 00:13:23,454 but became one... at the age of 39. 255 00:13:25,282 --> 00:13:26,893 Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 256 00:13:26,936 --> 00:13:29,678 October 27, 2006. 257 00:13:29,721 --> 00:13:32,594 While in town visiting his mother, 258 00:13:32,637 --> 00:13:36,206 corporate sales trainer Derek Amato reconnects 259 00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:39,862 with some old friends at a pool party. 260 00:13:39,906 --> 00:13:42,778 AMATO: We got together at the pool for a little barbecue, 261 00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:45,041 and we were challenging one another 262 00:13:45,085 --> 00:13:47,304 to do all these goofy stunts. 263 00:13:47,348 --> 00:13:49,698 And I told one of the guys to throw a football, 264 00:13:49,741 --> 00:13:52,788 and I would run and dive over the water and catch it. 265 00:13:52,832 --> 00:13:54,311 And I hit my head on the bottom of 266 00:13:54,355 --> 00:13:55,312 the shallow end of the swimming pool. 267 00:13:57,314 --> 00:13:59,969 I knew I had hurt myself, 268 00:14:00,013 --> 00:14:01,449 but I didn't know to what extent. 269 00:14:01,492 --> 00:14:03,799 After they took me to my mom's house, 270 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:05,670 she rushed me right to the hospital. 271 00:14:05,714 --> 00:14:10,110 They had done a bunch of scans, and I didn't have any bleeding. 272 00:14:10,153 --> 00:14:13,287 So they kept me to monitor what was going on, 273 00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:15,419 and the next morning they sent me home. 274 00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:19,510 SHATNER: Despite a serious head injury 275 00:14:19,554 --> 00:14:22,687 that could have left him paralyzed, or worse, 276 00:14:22,731 --> 00:14:26,561 Derek appeared to make a full recovery. 277 00:14:26,604 --> 00:14:28,911 Other than a bump on his head, 278 00:14:28,955 --> 00:14:32,784 there didn't seem to be anything different about him. 279 00:14:32,828 --> 00:14:35,222 Or so everyone thought. 280 00:14:37,050 --> 00:14:39,008 I did go home with my mother and stay with her 281 00:14:39,052 --> 00:14:41,750 for the next five days, and I slept. 282 00:14:41,793 --> 00:14:45,188 I remember little moments periodically looking up 283 00:14:45,232 --> 00:14:48,496 and seeing these blocks, these black and white squares. 284 00:14:48,539 --> 00:14:50,454 And I just thought they were little marks, 285 00:14:50,498 --> 00:14:52,195 just from my head injury that I was seeing 286 00:14:52,239 --> 00:14:54,850 these little, uh, shapes. 287 00:14:54,894 --> 00:14:57,287 After five days, a gentleman that was with me 288 00:14:57,331 --> 00:15:00,160 when I hit my head came over to pick me up. 289 00:15:00,203 --> 00:15:02,727 And we went over to his apartment, 290 00:15:02,771 --> 00:15:06,731 and there was a small keyboard in the corner. 291 00:15:06,775 --> 00:15:09,430 And as we were talking, I just kind of felt drawn 292 00:15:09,473 --> 00:15:11,345 to walk over to it. 293 00:15:11,388 --> 00:15:15,305 And I sat down, and that's when my hands 294 00:15:15,349 --> 00:15:17,829 just started to absolutely go 295 00:15:17,873 --> 00:15:20,397 like I'd been playing for years. 296 00:15:20,441 --> 00:15:23,835 And it was a pretty profound moment 297 00:15:23,879 --> 00:15:25,054 because I had never touched a piano. 298 00:15:25,098 --> 00:15:27,317 [playing mid-tempo melody] 299 00:15:29,711 --> 00:15:31,582 I did not see those black and white squares 300 00:15:31,626 --> 00:15:33,193 prior to my head injury. 301 00:15:33,236 --> 00:15:35,325 And then after some time working with some doctors, 302 00:15:35,369 --> 00:15:37,023 we kind of put these pieces together 303 00:15:37,066 --> 00:15:39,242 to understand that those little boxes are the notes 304 00:15:39,286 --> 00:15:42,506 that are telling my hands what to do and where to go. 305 00:15:42,550 --> 00:15:45,857 [piano playing gentle classical music] 306 00:15:45,901 --> 00:15:49,426 SHATNER: In the years after his accident, 307 00:15:49,470 --> 00:15:51,385 Derek has become a virtuoso pianist, 308 00:15:51,428 --> 00:15:55,041 and has played on stages across the United States. 309 00:15:55,084 --> 00:15:56,956 And even though thousands of people 310 00:15:56,999 --> 00:16:00,046 have now seen him perform, the question still remains: 311 00:16:00,089 --> 00:16:04,659 How did Derek develop his incredible ability, 312 00:16:04,702 --> 00:16:08,489 seemingly overnight, and without ever taking 313 00:16:08,532 --> 00:16:11,057 a single piano lesson? 314 00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:13,276 [applause] 315 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,800 AMATO: My reaction at the moment I discovered my hands 316 00:16:15,844 --> 00:16:17,585 were playing the piano was, 317 00:16:17,628 --> 00:16:20,501 "How am I going to explain this to someone?" 318 00:16:20,544 --> 00:16:23,634 I became so curious that I started looking on the Internet 319 00:16:23,678 --> 00:16:25,593 for any information I could find on it. 320 00:16:25,636 --> 00:16:27,508 And they even had a title for it 321 00:16:27,551 --> 00:16:29,640 as "acquired savant syndrome." 322 00:16:29,684 --> 00:16:31,468 And that was all new words for me because 323 00:16:31,512 --> 00:16:33,775 I thought a savant was a French pastry. 324 00:16:35,211 --> 00:16:37,126 HO: Acquired savant syndrome means that after 325 00:16:37,170 --> 00:16:38,780 some kind of brain injury or damage, 326 00:16:38,823 --> 00:16:40,956 all of a sudden this person becomes 327 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,132 really specialized in some area 328 00:16:43,176 --> 00:16:46,048 that they previously had no skill in. 329 00:16:46,092 --> 00:16:48,572 SCHNEIDER: Scientists have identified damage to 330 00:16:48,616 --> 00:16:50,183 a particular area of the brain, 331 00:16:50,226 --> 00:16:54,143 the left anterior temporal lobe, as being essential 332 00:16:54,187 --> 00:16:57,842 to the creation of acquired savant syndrome. 333 00:16:57,886 --> 00:17:00,497 The theory is that perhaps, 334 00:17:00,541 --> 00:17:02,978 because the left hemisphere started to go dark 335 00:17:03,022 --> 00:17:05,546 after this injury, now the right side could feel free 336 00:17:05,589 --> 00:17:08,070 to express themselves fully, 337 00:17:08,114 --> 00:17:09,811 and they develop these artistic abilities. 338 00:17:11,987 --> 00:17:14,555 SHATNER: The remarkable abilities of people like Derek Amato 339 00:17:14,598 --> 00:17:19,125 suggest that even if we aren't born a genius, 340 00:17:19,168 --> 00:17:22,041 there is something in our brains 341 00:17:22,084 --> 00:17:25,957 that could be rewired to make us one. 342 00:17:26,001 --> 00:17:28,090 It's an exciting notion, 343 00:17:28,134 --> 00:17:30,179 especially if we could find some way to unlock 344 00:17:30,223 --> 00:17:33,052 our brain's potential not by accident... 345 00:17:35,271 --> 00:17:38,535 ...but whenever and however we want to. 346 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,975 Suppose we walk into a mind design center, 347 00:17:44,019 --> 00:17:46,978 and we see a menu before us, 348 00:17:47,022 --> 00:17:50,156 and one item is called "Human Calculator," 349 00:17:50,199 --> 00:17:53,811 and another item is called "Immediate Mozart," 350 00:17:53,855 --> 00:17:57,685 another "Immediate Picasso." 351 00:17:57,728 --> 00:17:59,252 How many would you choose? 352 00:17:59,295 --> 00:18:02,516 Will there be trade-offs if we try to induce 353 00:18:02,559 --> 00:18:05,606 savant behavior in ordinary people? 354 00:18:05,649 --> 00:18:06,911 We just don't know. 355 00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:11,655 [playing gentle melody] 356 00:18:11,699 --> 00:18:13,744 AMATO: I believe we all have these. 357 00:18:13,788 --> 00:18:16,834 And it may not be musical gifts in all of us, 358 00:18:16,878 --> 00:18:18,836 but I think we're designed gifted. 359 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,969 And I think it's just a matter of discovery 360 00:18:21,012 --> 00:18:22,144 from there on out. 361 00:18:22,188 --> 00:18:24,015 ♪ 362 00:18:26,235 --> 00:18:30,370 What began as a horrible swimming pool accident 363 00:18:30,413 --> 00:18:32,981 somehow transformed Derek Amato's brain 364 00:18:33,024 --> 00:18:35,157 into that of a musical genius, 365 00:18:35,201 --> 00:18:40,684 and his life into one of great opportunity. 366 00:18:40,728 --> 00:18:43,818 But what if someone finds out that the brain they have 367 00:18:43,861 --> 00:18:48,039 is not that of a genius but of a criminal? 368 00:18:48,083 --> 00:18:51,260 And not only a criminal... 369 00:18:51,304 --> 00:18:55,830 but a brain that matches that of a serial killer. 370 00:18:59,225 --> 00:19:01,096 SHATNER: Florida State Prison. 371 00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:03,142 January 21, 1989. 372 00:19:12,238 --> 00:19:14,544 SHATNER: Days before his execution, 373 00:19:14,588 --> 00:19:17,199 convicted serial killer Ted Bundy 374 00:19:17,243 --> 00:19:20,115 confesses to the murder of at least 30 people, 375 00:19:20,159 --> 00:19:25,120 ending a crime spree that lasted for more than a decade. 376 00:19:25,164 --> 00:19:28,341 HICKEY: We often use Ted Bundy as the perfect example of a psychopath 377 00:19:28,384 --> 00:19:30,430 because he had all the attributes. 378 00:19:30,473 --> 00:19:33,215 He was charming. He was likable. 379 00:19:33,259 --> 00:19:36,349 He was k-kind of handsome guy. He was very articulate. 380 00:19:36,392 --> 00:19:40,353 He knew how to ingratiate himself into people's lives, 381 00:19:40,396 --> 00:19:42,485 and he did all the things 382 00:19:42,529 --> 00:19:44,705 that you expect a normal person to do, 383 00:19:44,748 --> 00:19:48,535 and yet, every step of the way, everything he did was about him. 384 00:19:48,578 --> 00:19:52,147 He was a predator. He never stopped being a predator. 385 00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:54,323 SHATNER: But how could an otherwise 386 00:19:54,367 --> 00:19:58,371 clean-cut and successful young man like Ted Bundy 387 00:19:58,414 --> 00:20:02,026 become a cold-blooded, psychopathic killer? 388 00:20:02,070 --> 00:20:05,552 Did the circumstances of his life turn him into one, 389 00:20:05,595 --> 00:20:10,078 or was he literally born to kill? 390 00:20:10,121 --> 00:20:12,080 HO: There's been a lot of studies lately 391 00:20:12,123 --> 00:20:14,169 on the brains of psychopaths. 392 00:20:14,213 --> 00:20:16,693 And some of the most important findings is that we see that 393 00:20:16,737 --> 00:20:18,129 they have a connectivity problem 394 00:20:18,173 --> 00:20:19,609 with different parts of their brain. 395 00:20:19,653 --> 00:20:22,264 FALLON: From the scans that I had seen, 396 00:20:22,308 --> 00:20:24,135 scans of all these different murderers, 397 00:20:24,179 --> 00:20:26,007 including psychopathic murderers, 398 00:20:26,050 --> 00:20:28,096 there was the same pattern, and that same pattern 399 00:20:28,139 --> 00:20:31,273 was a loss of activity in this area of the brain, 400 00:20:31,317 --> 00:20:33,319 above the eyes, above the orbits, 401 00:20:33,362 --> 00:20:35,103 so it's called orbital cortex. 402 00:20:35,146 --> 00:20:38,324 This is the limbic system, the cortical limbic system, 403 00:20:38,367 --> 00:20:40,500 and this is what's turned off. 404 00:20:40,543 --> 00:20:44,373 When we look at someone who is a true psychopath, 405 00:20:44,417 --> 00:20:47,376 it's most likely you'll not find much brain activity 406 00:20:47,420 --> 00:20:49,422 in the limbic system. 407 00:20:49,465 --> 00:20:53,556 And those parts contain areas of empathy and understanding, 408 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,124 care and concern, conscience. 409 00:20:56,167 --> 00:20:58,866 This seems to line up with the reports of psychopaths, 410 00:20:58,909 --> 00:21:00,563 you know, doing some horrific things, 411 00:21:00,607 --> 00:21:02,217 you know, killing multiple people 412 00:21:02,261 --> 00:21:04,611 and then just getting back up, going to a movie, 413 00:21:04,654 --> 00:21:06,395 eating McDonald's within the hour. 414 00:21:06,439 --> 00:21:08,615 They just don't seem to have their emotions 415 00:21:08,658 --> 00:21:11,705 stimulated the way that a normal person's brain would. 416 00:21:13,489 --> 00:21:16,710 There have already been studies about trying to rewire the brain 417 00:21:16,753 --> 00:21:18,973 of psychopaths, in that we're trying to improve 418 00:21:19,016 --> 00:21:21,018 some of their connectivity problems. 419 00:21:21,062 --> 00:21:23,151 Because if we see that there's an issue 420 00:21:23,194 --> 00:21:25,153 with two parts of the brain not communicating well 421 00:21:25,196 --> 00:21:27,938 with each other, maybe we can send some electrical impulses 422 00:21:27,982 --> 00:21:29,766 through it and see if we can stimulate them 423 00:21:29,810 --> 00:21:32,029 into more action. 424 00:21:32,073 --> 00:21:35,816 TAYLOR: If we do a brain scan on every baby that's born, 425 00:21:35,859 --> 00:21:38,732 and we decide that this one has the type of brain 426 00:21:38,775 --> 00:21:41,343 that's going to be a criminal mind, 427 00:21:41,387 --> 00:21:43,345 what do we do with that? 428 00:21:43,389 --> 00:21:48,350 Is that, uh, something that we have to retrain this child? 429 00:21:48,394 --> 00:21:52,441 Do we keep this child under protection as they grow up? 430 00:21:52,485 --> 00:21:55,226 How do we respond to that type of information? 431 00:21:57,664 --> 00:22:00,406 FALLON: Are we more determined by genetics or environment? 432 00:22:00,449 --> 00:22:03,060 We had an ongoing Alzheimer's study 433 00:22:03,104 --> 00:22:05,411 that we were doing a clinical trial on, 434 00:22:05,454 --> 00:22:07,500 but we didn't have enough controls. 435 00:22:07,543 --> 00:22:10,503 And so I said, "Look-it, I'll ask my family." 436 00:22:10,546 --> 00:22:12,722 We'll get them all in, do PET scans, 437 00:22:12,766 --> 00:22:14,594 and they'll be controls because in our family, 438 00:22:14,637 --> 00:22:16,378 there is no Alzheimer's. 439 00:22:16,422 --> 00:22:21,383 And so I went through this pile of these Alzheimer's scans, 440 00:22:21,427 --> 00:22:24,343 and we cover up the names, 'cause I don't like to know 441 00:22:24,386 --> 00:22:25,605 who I'm looking at, what I'm looking at. 442 00:22:25,648 --> 00:22:27,215 You got to stay double blind, right? 443 00:22:27,258 --> 00:22:29,957 And each one was normal, normal, normal. 444 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,307 But I got to the last scan, 445 00:22:32,351 --> 00:22:36,006 and I saw this very obviously completely psychopathic pattern. 446 00:22:36,050 --> 00:22:37,660 It looked like all these psychopathic murderers 447 00:22:37,704 --> 00:22:39,401 I'd looked at. 448 00:22:39,445 --> 00:22:41,577 I said to the technician, "This is very funny. 449 00:22:41,621 --> 00:22:43,884 "You-You've slipped in one of these psychopathic murderers. 450 00:22:43,927 --> 00:22:45,929 "This is like the worst one I've seen, 451 00:22:45,973 --> 00:22:48,541 and whoever this is, we got to notify the police." 452 00:22:48,584 --> 00:22:50,630 And he goes, "This is somebody who's very dangerous." 453 00:22:50,673 --> 00:22:54,503 So when I pulled off the name tag on the PET scan, 454 00:22:54,547 --> 00:22:56,723 I looked at it and laughed. I said, "Guys, look-it, 455 00:22:56,766 --> 00:22:59,290 this can't be right." It was my name on there. 456 00:22:59,334 --> 00:23:01,989 So it was me that had the full-blown 457 00:23:02,032 --> 00:23:03,817 psychopathic pattern in my scans. 458 00:23:05,471 --> 00:23:07,734 Jim Fallon found that he actually has 459 00:23:07,777 --> 00:23:10,301 sort of this classic psychopathic brain 460 00:23:10,345 --> 00:23:12,086 from an imaging perspective, 461 00:23:12,129 --> 00:23:15,219 but he's in a long-term relationship, he has a wife, 462 00:23:15,263 --> 00:23:17,396 and sometimes she has to remind him to be 463 00:23:17,439 --> 00:23:19,615 more empathetic, but he's a good citizen. 464 00:23:19,659 --> 00:23:23,837 HICKEY: I would say that 30% is about biology and genetics, 465 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,667 and 70% is about nurturing or the lack of nurturing. 466 00:23:27,710 --> 00:23:33,542 It's like nature loads the gun and nurturing pulls the trigger. 467 00:23:33,586 --> 00:23:36,327 FALLON: Charisma is really a psychopathic trait. 468 00:23:36,371 --> 00:23:38,417 And so growing up, all through my teens, 469 00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:40,157 high school, I was very popular. 470 00:23:40,201 --> 00:23:41,898 You know, popular and class clown, 471 00:23:41,942 --> 00:23:44,945 and a ton of friends, and a ton of female friends, 472 00:23:44,988 --> 00:23:46,773 and really got along with everybody. 473 00:23:46,816 --> 00:23:49,036 I never thought anything was wrong, 474 00:23:49,079 --> 00:23:53,388 even though from the time I was 11, 12 years old onward, 475 00:23:53,432 --> 00:23:55,869 all the time, some adults would say to me, 476 00:23:55,912 --> 00:23:57,566 "There's something quite evil about you," 477 00:23:57,610 --> 00:23:59,438 even though they couldn't put their finger on it. 478 00:24:01,483 --> 00:24:04,225 SHATNER: Although, according to his own research, 479 00:24:04,268 --> 00:24:06,880 James Fallon's brain is similar to those 480 00:24:06,923 --> 00:24:10,057 possessed by people with psychopathic tendencies, 481 00:24:10,100 --> 00:24:12,625 he hasn't gone on to commit murder. 482 00:24:12,668 --> 00:24:14,844 But why not? 483 00:24:14,888 --> 00:24:19,327 Could it be that the urge to kill requires something more, 484 00:24:19,370 --> 00:24:23,418 something harder to identify within the human brain? 485 00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:26,421 Perhaps the answer lies not in studying 486 00:24:26,465 --> 00:24:29,119 the brain's physical attributes 487 00:24:29,163 --> 00:24:32,819 but those of a less tangible nature. 488 00:24:32,862 --> 00:24:35,474 Maybe it has something to do with not the biology 489 00:24:35,517 --> 00:24:38,520 of the brain but with the brain's ability 490 00:24:38,564 --> 00:24:44,221 to send and receive signals from far outside the human body. 491 00:24:51,141 --> 00:24:53,796 SHATNER: May 2006. 492 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,843 Steven B. Williams, a successful radio host 493 00:24:56,886 --> 00:25:00,542 and deejay from Colorado, has gone missing. 494 00:25:00,586 --> 00:25:04,415 For the next two weeks, police engage in a massive search. 495 00:25:04,459 --> 00:25:08,376 But despite their efforts, there's still no trace of him. 496 00:25:08,419 --> 00:25:12,554 Desperate for answers, a close friend of Williams 497 00:25:12,598 --> 00:25:15,905 decides to enlist the help of Angela Smith, 498 00:25:15,949 --> 00:25:18,995 a woman with a unique talent: 499 00:25:19,039 --> 00:25:21,868 remote viewing. 500 00:25:23,739 --> 00:25:26,568 He didn't want to give me any up-front information, 501 00:25:26,612 --> 00:25:30,006 because in remote viewing, often that can contaminate 502 00:25:30,050 --> 00:25:33,183 the viewing and lead to imagination, et cetera. 503 00:25:33,227 --> 00:25:37,318 The process I use consists of sitting with 504 00:25:37,361 --> 00:25:39,538 a pack of white paper and a pen, 505 00:25:39,581 --> 00:25:42,192 uh, a couple of letters and numbers, 506 00:25:42,236 --> 00:25:43,977 and often nothing more. 507 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:47,546 You go through accessing colors and shapes 508 00:25:47,589 --> 00:25:50,331 and smells and tastes, and going in your mind 509 00:25:50,374 --> 00:25:53,639 to the location and perceiving 510 00:25:53,682 --> 00:25:55,815 and bringing back the information. 511 00:25:57,860 --> 00:26:02,691 I did a session and found water, brackish water, 512 00:26:02,735 --> 00:26:04,954 a land mass, an event that happened. 513 00:26:07,391 --> 00:26:10,090 And it seemed that the individual in question 514 00:26:10,133 --> 00:26:12,483 had been killed, was in the water, 515 00:26:12,527 --> 00:26:15,704 and a lot of other surrounding information. 516 00:26:18,620 --> 00:26:20,622 In 2006, I was a commander 517 00:26:20,666 --> 00:26:22,189 for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, 518 00:26:22,232 --> 00:26:25,148 and I'd been in law enforcement about 31 years. 519 00:26:25,192 --> 00:26:28,761 It was quite unusual, to say the least, 520 00:26:28,804 --> 00:26:32,634 that Angela Smith would pick up a particular homicide 521 00:26:32,678 --> 00:26:37,247 and provide detailed information and then try to help solve it. 522 00:26:37,291 --> 00:26:41,817 I called the homicide investigator and just said, 523 00:26:41,861 --> 00:26:44,951 is he working on a case with an anonymous body 524 00:26:44,994 --> 00:26:46,996 found floating in the ocean? 525 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,912 By the fact that I had that much information, 526 00:26:49,956 --> 00:26:51,653 I immediately had his interest. 527 00:26:51,697 --> 00:26:55,570 So I says, "I've got some information on this." 528 00:26:55,614 --> 00:26:57,790 And I said, "I've got to tell you 529 00:26:57,833 --> 00:27:00,357 that it's gonna sound bizarre." 530 00:27:00,401 --> 00:27:05,145 SHATNER: Using the information provided by Angela Smith, 531 00:27:05,188 --> 00:27:08,148 the police were able to identify a nameless body 532 00:27:08,191 --> 00:27:11,891 that had been found off the coast of Catalina Island. 533 00:27:11,934 --> 00:27:15,285 It was that of Steven B. Williams. 534 00:27:15,329 --> 00:27:17,026 But it didn't end there. 535 00:27:17,070 --> 00:27:19,942 Angela provided information 536 00:27:19,986 --> 00:27:25,208 not only about the victim but also about his killer. 537 00:27:28,385 --> 00:27:31,606 After the body had been identified, 538 00:27:31,650 --> 00:27:36,045 I did a profile, like an FBI profiler would do. 539 00:27:36,089 --> 00:27:40,354 And that matched a profile of an individual 540 00:27:40,397 --> 00:27:43,096 that Williams had been in contact with 541 00:27:43,139 --> 00:27:48,188 and who had actually swindled Williams out of some money. 542 00:27:48,231 --> 00:27:50,451 HEAL: The homicide investigator called me back 543 00:27:50,494 --> 00:27:52,496 three or four days later and said, 544 00:27:52,540 --> 00:27:54,716 "Hey, just so you know, this stuff's legit." 545 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,502 They had a possible suspect, and they even had a motive, 546 00:27:58,546 --> 00:28:00,548 none of which they were getting 547 00:28:00,591 --> 00:28:02,463 through the conventional methods. 548 00:28:02,506 --> 00:28:04,900 I thought, "Wow, maybe there really is something to this." 549 00:28:04,944 --> 00:28:09,252 SHATNER: Steven B. Williams' killer was eventually apprehended, 550 00:28:09,296 --> 00:28:12,560 thanks, it seems, to the incredible abilities 551 00:28:12,603 --> 00:28:14,562 of Angela Smith. 552 00:28:14,605 --> 00:28:17,608 The idea of remote viewing has been around for a long time. 553 00:28:17,652 --> 00:28:19,698 It-It's been around for actually thousands of years. 554 00:28:19,741 --> 00:28:23,832 And it's the idea that you can transmit yourself 555 00:28:23,876 --> 00:28:27,314 out of your body and go view other places 556 00:28:27,357 --> 00:28:30,056 and-and get information, and then figure out 557 00:28:30,099 --> 00:28:33,276 what was going on without ever having to go there. 558 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:38,064 SMITH: What science has found so far, they attach electrodes 559 00:28:38,107 --> 00:28:40,370 to the brain while somebody's doing remote viewing. 560 00:28:40,414 --> 00:28:42,808 Sometimes you're accessing information 561 00:28:42,851 --> 00:28:45,941 with the right brain, reporting it and writing it down 562 00:28:45,985 --> 00:28:48,727 with the left brain, so there's a dance going on. 563 00:28:48,770 --> 00:28:51,164 It's very much a whole-brain activity. 564 00:28:51,207 --> 00:28:54,863 SHATNER: Can remote viewing really provide visions 565 00:28:54,907 --> 00:28:58,084 of people, places, things, 566 00:28:58,127 --> 00:29:00,695 no matter where they are on Earth? 567 00:29:00,739 --> 00:29:03,132 The very notion seems absurd. 568 00:29:03,176 --> 00:29:07,354 And yet, there was a time when some thought 569 00:29:07,397 --> 00:29:11,184 this practice could be used to win the Cold War. 570 00:29:13,534 --> 00:29:15,449 WHITEHEAD: The Russians, during the Cold War, 571 00:29:15,492 --> 00:29:18,147 were investing millions of dollars in parapsychology, 572 00:29:18,191 --> 00:29:20,759 psychic phenomena, remote viewing. 573 00:29:20,802 --> 00:29:22,630 And the Americans felt that they had to keep up 574 00:29:22,673 --> 00:29:24,632 with the Russians, and so they developed 575 00:29:24,675 --> 00:29:27,896 their own classified program, and were basically trying 576 00:29:27,940 --> 00:29:30,812 to train psychic spies. 577 00:29:30,856 --> 00:29:33,989 JOE McMONEAGLE: I was one of the first people that was recruited 578 00:29:34,033 --> 00:29:35,817 for the remote viewing program, 579 00:29:35,861 --> 00:29:38,341 what's now being referred to as the Stargate program. 580 00:29:38,385 --> 00:29:41,344 I was recruited in October of 1978. 581 00:29:41,388 --> 00:29:42,911 [crowd chanting] 582 00:29:42,955 --> 00:29:44,913 WHITEHEAD: In the late '70s, there had just been 583 00:29:44,957 --> 00:29:46,915 a revolution in Iran, 584 00:29:46,959 --> 00:29:50,789 and in November of 1979, a group of students 585 00:29:50,832 --> 00:29:54,227 who were revolutionaries took over the U.S. embassy 586 00:29:54,270 --> 00:29:56,533 and took dozens of American hostages. 587 00:29:59,798 --> 00:30:02,931 So, when this hostage situation unfolded, 588 00:30:02,975 --> 00:30:05,804 U.S. intelligence had very little information 589 00:30:05,847 --> 00:30:07,414 about how many hostages they were, 590 00:30:07,457 --> 00:30:10,373 where they were being held, et cetera. 591 00:30:10,417 --> 00:30:13,420 It was reported later that there was a team 592 00:30:13,463 --> 00:30:15,683 of remote viewers that were actually working 593 00:30:15,726 --> 00:30:18,817 out of a secret location in Maryland just outside of D.C., 594 00:30:18,860 --> 00:30:21,602 and that they were trying to find out 595 00:30:21,645 --> 00:30:24,126 what was going on inside the embassy. 596 00:30:26,781 --> 00:30:30,916 McMONEAGLE: They said we need to know who's a hostage in this place 597 00:30:30,959 --> 00:30:33,657 where an embassy was taken over. 598 00:30:33,701 --> 00:30:36,356 Some of the other things we were asked to do 599 00:30:36,399 --> 00:30:38,880 was describe how they were being treated, 600 00:30:38,924 --> 00:30:41,448 what they were being fed, how they were being guarded, 601 00:30:41,491 --> 00:30:43,102 other things like that. 602 00:30:43,145 --> 00:30:46,888 In this case, we were able to identify 603 00:30:46,932 --> 00:30:49,195 pretty much most of the hostages. 604 00:30:49,238 --> 00:30:52,981 WHITEHEAD: They actually based legitimate intelligence efforts 605 00:30:53,025 --> 00:30:55,201 on the information that they got 606 00:30:55,244 --> 00:30:57,246 from many of these psychic remote viewers, 607 00:30:57,290 --> 00:30:59,509 and so we know it works, 608 00:30:59,553 --> 00:31:03,209 but we're still trying to figure out exactly how it works. 609 00:31:03,252 --> 00:31:07,126 SHATNER: Espionage typically relies on high-tech equipment 610 00:31:07,169 --> 00:31:11,782 like satellites, radio receivers and computers. 611 00:31:11,826 --> 00:31:16,004 But according to those who practice remote viewing, 612 00:31:16,048 --> 00:31:19,965 this technology is no match for the greatest computer 613 00:31:20,008 --> 00:31:24,317 in the world: the human brain. 614 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:29,888 McMONEAGLE: I've been remote viewing now for 42, 43 years, constantly. 615 00:31:29,931 --> 00:31:34,980 People ask me, "Well, how do you get information to come down?" 616 00:31:35,023 --> 00:31:39,680 I go to a place in my mind where it's very quiet, 617 00:31:39,723 --> 00:31:42,901 and I just open to whatever information's gonna come. 618 00:31:45,816 --> 00:31:49,777 SMITH: I believe that everybody has a natural intuitive ability. 619 00:31:49,820 --> 00:31:52,388 So, remote viewing training 620 00:31:52,432 --> 00:31:55,783 focuses on that natural ability and enhances it. 621 00:31:55,826 --> 00:31:59,700 What it says about the brain is that our brains are plastic. 622 00:31:59,743 --> 00:32:02,703 They're able to adapt and able to learn. 623 00:32:06,707 --> 00:32:09,666 Did Angela Smith's remarkable mental abilities 624 00:32:09,710 --> 00:32:13,279 really help the police solve a baffling crime? 625 00:32:13,322 --> 00:32:15,977 There are many associated with the case 626 00:32:16,021 --> 00:32:19,241 who believe the answer is a firm yes, 627 00:32:19,285 --> 00:32:22,201 just as there are those who believe that the contents 628 00:32:22,244 --> 00:32:26,596 of an entire human brain can actually be uploaded 629 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,948 like data into a computer, 630 00:32:29,991 --> 00:32:35,127 and that, once transferred, it can not only be stored 631 00:32:35,170 --> 00:32:38,957 but used over and over again... 632 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:44,179 forever. 633 00:32:44,223 --> 00:32:46,094 SHATNER: Boston, Massachusetts. 634 00:32:46,138 --> 00:32:48,009 March 2018. 635 00:32:48,053 --> 00:32:52,231 Nectome, a biotechnology startup company, 636 00:32:52,274 --> 00:32:57,366 announces an audacious and controversial plan. 637 00:32:57,410 --> 00:32:58,715 -Their vision? -[monitor beeping steadily] 638 00:32:58,759 --> 00:33:00,500 A groundbreaking technique 639 00:33:00,543 --> 00:33:04,504 that can take the data stored inside a human brain 640 00:33:04,547 --> 00:33:07,986 and transfer it into a computer. 641 00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:13,382 There are companies like Nectome that are attempting 642 00:33:13,426 --> 00:33:16,733 to preserve the brain and the mind. 643 00:33:18,561 --> 00:33:21,347 Our methods of analyzing the connections 644 00:33:21,390 --> 00:33:24,350 between neurons in the brain are getting really good. 645 00:33:24,393 --> 00:33:26,700 And so, eventually we'll be able to model the connections 646 00:33:26,743 --> 00:33:29,572 between all the neurons, and at that point, 647 00:33:29,616 --> 00:33:31,966 we'll have a better idea as to whether or not its possible 648 00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:34,273 to upload a brain into the cloud, 649 00:33:34,316 --> 00:33:37,363 but we'll have to wait and see what happens. 650 00:33:39,626 --> 00:33:43,456 SCHNEIDER: Uploading is the process of basically copying and encoding 651 00:33:43,499 --> 00:33:47,938 someone's mental life onto a computer. 652 00:33:47,982 --> 00:33:51,855 Advocates of uploading believe that that would really be a way 653 00:33:51,899 --> 00:33:54,554 for you to survive the death of your brain. 654 00:33:56,686 --> 00:33:59,689 KAKU: And now people say, "Well, if I'm immortal, 655 00:33:59,733 --> 00:34:02,040 "and I'm living my life inside a computer, 656 00:34:02,083 --> 00:34:04,651 isn't that rather boring?" 657 00:34:04,694 --> 00:34:08,481 No. Because this mainframe computer will connect 658 00:34:08,524 --> 00:34:12,659 to a mechanical avatar that is superhuman i iery way. 659 00:34:12,702 --> 00:34:14,704 And you will see through its eyes. 660 00:34:14,748 --> 00:34:16,967 You'll feel through its sense organs. 661 00:34:17,011 --> 00:34:20,623 So, in other words, we will have a form of digital immortality. 662 00:34:22,799 --> 00:34:24,975 SHATNER: Digital immortality. 663 00:34:25,019 --> 00:34:27,891 The incredible notion that we might someday 664 00:34:27,935 --> 00:34:30,329 be able to live forever. 665 00:34:32,157 --> 00:34:34,942 But if the information inside our brains 666 00:34:34,985 --> 00:34:37,162 can be copied and transferred, 667 00:34:37,205 --> 00:34:40,730 like information onto a computer hard drive, 668 00:34:40,774 --> 00:34:43,994 -does that mean it can keep and store everything? -[echoing laughter] 669 00:34:44,038 --> 00:34:47,607 Like our personalities, perhaps? 670 00:34:47,650 --> 00:34:51,176 Or would something be lost in translation? 671 00:34:51,219 --> 00:34:54,004 There are two issues to consider here. 672 00:34:54,048 --> 00:34:58,270 First of all, why believe that a digital copy of you 673 00:34:58,313 --> 00:35:00,576 is capable of being conscious? 674 00:35:00,620 --> 00:35:05,277 The second issue is that it doesn't at all follow 675 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,322 that that being would really be you, 676 00:35:07,366 --> 00:35:13,198 that you are the survivor rather than a digital copy. 677 00:35:13,241 --> 00:35:15,765 Consciousness is one of the most hard-to-define phenomena 678 00:35:15,809 --> 00:35:17,550 about the human brain, 679 00:35:17,593 --> 00:35:19,726 and it's also what separates us from all other species. 680 00:35:19,769 --> 00:35:23,295 It's this idea that we have internal reflection. 681 00:35:23,338 --> 00:35:26,646 Can we actually live on forever in a computer and still be able 682 00:35:26,689 --> 00:35:28,561 to preserve all our memories, all our friendships, 683 00:35:28,604 --> 00:35:30,215 all of the different things that we love? 684 00:35:30,258 --> 00:35:31,781 And I think that that's a very romantic notion 685 00:35:31,825 --> 00:35:33,783 for a lot of people, 686 00:35:33,827 --> 00:35:36,177 that they want to feel like there's a way to go on forever. 687 00:35:36,221 --> 00:35:39,267 But you can't separate the brain from the rest of your body. 688 00:35:41,139 --> 00:35:43,053 TAYLOR: Consciousness requires a thing 689 00:35:43,097 --> 00:35:45,317 called non-computability. 690 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,841 Non-computability is why this person likes chocolate 691 00:35:47,884 --> 00:35:50,148 and that person doesn't. 692 00:35:50,191 --> 00:35:53,890 There isn't a mathematical algorithm that can create that. 693 00:35:53,934 --> 00:35:56,893 DENNIN: We probably aren't at the point where we understand well enough 694 00:35:56,937 --> 00:35:58,939 what makes it human and conscious 695 00:35:58,982 --> 00:36:01,985 to really recreate that in the computer. 696 00:36:03,813 --> 00:36:06,468 My guess is your consciousness in you 697 00:36:06,512 --> 00:36:10,907 is more than just the composition of your brain. 698 00:36:10,951 --> 00:36:13,214 I think there is a special combination that makes us human 699 00:36:13,258 --> 00:36:14,824 that at the moment is a secret. 700 00:36:14,868 --> 00:36:16,261 I'm not convinced science won't be able 701 00:36:16,304 --> 00:36:17,827 to figure it out at some point. 702 00:36:20,090 --> 00:36:22,832 SHATNER: In this day and age, we tend to believe 703 00:36:22,876 --> 00:36:24,704 that anything can be accomplished through 704 00:36:24,747 --> 00:36:26,662 the power of technology. 705 00:36:26,706 --> 00:36:30,188 But in the case of digitizing the human consciousness, 706 00:36:30,231 --> 00:36:33,103 there seems to be a unique combination of factors 707 00:36:33,147 --> 00:36:35,018 that can't simply be reduced 708 00:36:35,062 --> 00:36:38,979 -to a series of ones and zeroes. -[excited chatter] 709 00:36:39,022 --> 00:36:41,329 And according to many neuroscientists, 710 00:36:41,373 --> 00:36:44,245 the reason we can't transfer a person's personality 711 00:36:44,289 --> 00:36:47,770 -from inside their head to a computer -[laughter] 712 00:36:47,814 --> 00:36:52,993 is because our minds are already networked to something else, 713 00:36:53,036 --> 00:36:55,996 something outside our bodies. 714 00:36:58,303 --> 00:37:01,088 There's a sense that you even have as a child 715 00:37:01,131 --> 00:37:03,699 that there's something beyond us, outside of us. 716 00:37:03,743 --> 00:37:06,702 There's this otherness involved and this, 717 00:37:06,746 --> 00:37:08,835 perhaps, connection with the universe. 718 00:37:08,878 --> 00:37:12,273 TAYLOR: You yourself are a part of the universe. 719 00:37:12,317 --> 00:37:14,014 I don't mean you're inthe universe. 720 00:37:14,057 --> 00:37:16,408 I mean, you are literally a piece of this universe, 721 00:37:16,451 --> 00:37:18,279 so you are connected to everything else, 722 00:37:18,323 --> 00:37:19,802 everywhere else. 723 00:37:19,846 --> 00:37:23,284 When you have thoughts in your mind, 724 00:37:23,328 --> 00:37:26,505 they are reaching out and connecting with other things 725 00:37:26,548 --> 00:37:29,812 that are similar to those thoughts in the universe. 726 00:37:29,856 --> 00:37:33,163 So it's possible that our brains 727 00:37:33,207 --> 00:37:37,603 could be acting like transceivers to receive that. 728 00:37:37,646 --> 00:37:39,518 WHITEHEAD: If you think of the way your smartphone connects 729 00:37:39,561 --> 00:37:42,042 to the Internet or to a Wi-Fi network, 730 00:37:42,085 --> 00:37:44,087 the human mind is actually connecting 731 00:37:44,131 --> 00:37:46,220 to a field of information. 732 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:49,267 There seems to be this ability that humans have, 733 00:37:49,310 --> 00:37:52,357 somewhere deep down in the darkest corners of our mind, 734 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,273 to be able to tap into information fields 735 00:37:55,316 --> 00:37:58,667 that are not readily known by us. 736 00:37:58,711 --> 00:38:03,411 STUART HAMEROFF: This means that consciousness can extend outside the brain. 737 00:38:03,455 --> 00:38:08,329 So when people say, "Is the brain a generating consciousness 738 00:38:08,373 --> 00:38:10,984 "or is it a receiver for consciousness 739 00:38:11,027 --> 00:38:13,813 that's present in the universe?" I think it's a bit of both. 740 00:38:17,382 --> 00:38:21,603 SHATNER: If our minds can tap into the very fabric of the universe, 741 00:38:21,647 --> 00:38:23,997 could that help to explain why the human brain 742 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,217 is still such a mystery? 743 00:38:27,261 --> 00:38:31,047 Is it ultimately too vast and complex 744 00:38:31,091 --> 00:38:34,747 to figure out by means of simple biology? 745 00:38:34,790 --> 00:38:38,620 There are those who believe the answer is yes. 746 00:38:38,664 --> 00:38:41,275 And, if that's the case, 747 00:38:41,319 --> 00:38:44,147 how can we even be sure that everything we know, 748 00:38:44,191 --> 00:38:47,368 our thoughts, our very memories, for example, 749 00:38:47,412 --> 00:38:51,807 are safe from being stolen by outside forces? 750 00:38:51,851 --> 00:38:53,722 [chuckles] 751 00:38:53,766 --> 00:38:57,030 The fact is they're not. 752 00:38:57,073 --> 00:38:58,423 [beeping, static crackling] 753 00:39:01,991 --> 00:39:03,384 SHATNER: Boston, Massachusetts. 754 00:39:03,428 --> 00:39:04,951 July 2013. 755 00:39:04,994 --> 00:39:08,084 Scientists at Boston University 756 00:39:08,128 --> 00:39:12,219 publish the results of an extraordinary experiment, 757 00:39:12,262 --> 00:39:16,571 results that call into question literally everything we know. 758 00:39:18,617 --> 00:39:20,967 RAMIREZ: A few years ago, we had a series of experiments 759 00:39:21,010 --> 00:39:22,708 where we were able to create a false memory 760 00:39:22,751 --> 00:39:24,231 in the rodent brain. 761 00:39:24,274 --> 00:39:26,407 We put our rodents in a safe environment 762 00:39:26,451 --> 00:39:28,496 where they were free to roam around, and we developed 763 00:39:28,540 --> 00:39:31,020 a set of genetic tricks where the brain cells 764 00:39:31,064 --> 00:39:33,849 that held onto the memory of that safe environment 765 00:39:33,893 --> 00:39:36,417 now became responsive to pulses of light. 766 00:39:36,461 --> 00:39:38,288 [lights buzzing, popping] 767 00:39:38,332 --> 00:39:41,030 So the next day, what we did was we put the animals 768 00:39:41,074 --> 00:39:42,858 in a completely different environment 769 00:39:42,902 --> 00:39:44,730 and we gave them a couple of mild foot shocks 770 00:39:44,773 --> 00:39:46,688 in that environment, in an attempt to startle them. 771 00:39:46,732 --> 00:39:48,473 But they key thing is that 772 00:39:48,516 --> 00:39:50,300 we could shoot light into the brain 773 00:39:50,344 --> 00:39:53,652 and reactivate the cells that held onto that safe memory. 774 00:39:53,695 --> 00:39:55,741 So, one of the ways that we've known 775 00:39:55,784 --> 00:39:58,439 that we've switched the memories is that the animal 776 00:39:58,483 --> 00:40:00,398 no longer behaviorally looks like its scared. 777 00:40:00,441 --> 00:40:03,313 And then that at least opened up the floodgates to this idea 778 00:40:03,357 --> 00:40:05,707 that we can artificially manipulate memories in general. 779 00:40:05,751 --> 00:40:09,319 We might be able to one day perform some kind of surgery 780 00:40:09,363 --> 00:40:12,322 or some kind of intervention in the brain to enhance memories 781 00:40:12,366 --> 00:40:14,803 that we don't want to be lost as a result of Alzheimer's. 782 00:40:14,847 --> 00:40:17,110 Or suppress memories, 783 00:40:17,153 --> 00:40:20,026 let's say, that we don't want to be there in cases of PTSD. 784 00:40:20,069 --> 00:40:22,158 Or suppress emotions, for instance, 785 00:40:22,202 --> 00:40:24,465 in certain cases of anxiety. 786 00:40:24,509 --> 00:40:28,948 Memories are stored, just like you can put memories on a card 787 00:40:28,991 --> 00:40:31,472 in a video camera or your cell phone. 788 00:40:31,516 --> 00:40:36,651 And it's possible that you could manipulate the chemical, 789 00:40:36,695 --> 00:40:38,958 the organic wiring, so to speak, 790 00:40:39,001 --> 00:40:41,613 just like you could manipulate a memory card 791 00:40:41,656 --> 00:40:43,919 in an electronic device. 792 00:40:43,963 --> 00:40:47,140 You can take one file out and put another file in. 793 00:40:49,490 --> 00:40:52,058 KAKU: In the future, we'll be able to record memories, 794 00:40:52,101 --> 00:40:56,889 play them back and alter these memories. 795 00:40:56,932 --> 00:40:59,544 And I wouldn't be surprised that, in the future, 796 00:40:59,587 --> 00:41:01,720 you'll be able to go to a library 797 00:41:01,763 --> 00:41:06,464 and have that vacation that you never had. 798 00:41:06,507 --> 00:41:08,117 TAYLOR: But once we learn 799 00:41:08,161 --> 00:41:12,470 how to add and remove files from our brains, 800 00:41:12,513 --> 00:41:15,777 if we do not have some kind of safeguard system, 801 00:41:15,821 --> 00:41:18,301 some kind of firewall to prevent other people 802 00:41:18,345 --> 00:41:20,173 from doing it without us letting them, 803 00:41:20,216 --> 00:41:22,654 then trusting our memories might be a problem. 804 00:41:24,612 --> 00:41:28,181 Implanting new thoughts into people's minds? 805 00:41:28,224 --> 00:41:30,923 Artificial memories? 806 00:41:30,966 --> 00:41:34,013 The implications are as profound as they are frightening. 807 00:41:34,056 --> 00:41:37,756 For example, how do you know if you actually watched this show? 808 00:41:37,799 --> 00:41:39,366 Perhaps someone simply created a memory 809 00:41:39,409 --> 00:41:42,238 and put it inside your head. 810 00:41:42,282 --> 00:41:43,979 Preposterous? 811 00:41:44,023 --> 00:41:46,199 How would you be able to tell the difference? 812 00:41:46,242 --> 00:41:48,549 Let's face it, just when we think we've figured out 813 00:41:48,593 --> 00:41:50,682 everything there is to learn about the human mind, 814 00:41:50,725 --> 00:41:53,554 we realize how little we really understand 815 00:41:53,598 --> 00:41:55,687 and how much more we need to know 816 00:41:55,730 --> 00:42:00,474 before there is nothing left that is unexplained.