View all news

The science of seeing differently

Dr Beau Lotto, Founder and CEO of Lab of Misfits Studio

Press release issued: 16 October 2017

The truths about the brain and its perceptions will be explored by neuroscientist and founder of Lab of Misfits Studio at a free University of Bristol public lecture next month.

Neuroscientist Dr Beau Lotto, Founder and CEO of Lab of Misfits Studio, the world's first neuro-design studio, will give this year's annual Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture, held in memory of the great interdisciplinary thinker and University of Bristol academic, Professor Richard Gregory. 

The lecture, entitled The science of seeing differently, will take place on Friday 3 November at 6 pm in Lecture Room 1, School of Experimental Psychology, Priory Road Complex, Priory Road, Bristol.  The event is organised by the Bristol Vision Institute (BVI).

Dr Lotto will reveal the startling truths about the brain and its perceptions, by showing through unique real-world ‘experiential-experiments’ that perception is the foundation of human experience.

Dr Lotto said: "We can't always trust what we see, whenever we open our eyes we never see what's there, we only ever see what was useful to see in the past."

Professor David Bull, Director of BVI and Professor of Signal Processing in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, added: "We have two basic requirements for the Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture – firstly that it's about exciting contemporary issues in vision science and secondly that it covers something Richard would have enjoyed.  Beau’s lecture will excite both specialist and non-specialist audiences and I am certain Richard would have enjoyed it."

Beau's first exhibition Alice in Wonderland: through the looking glass was staged alongside his mentor, Professor Richard Gregory, in We the Curious (formerly known as At-Bristol).  The exhibition invited young and not-so-young visitors to explore how their brains perceive visual images.

Dr Lotto will join an exciting list of speakers to have delivered this prestigious lecture in previous years, including Anya Hurlbert, Professor of Visual Neuroscience and Director of the Centre for Translational Systems Neuroscience at Newcastle University; Dr Andrew Watson, a pioneer in vision science at NASA Ames Research Center; Vilayanur Ramachandran, from the University of California – one of the world’s leading visual neuroscientists; David Sproxton, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Aardman Animations, the BBC Controller of Research and Development, Matthew Postgate, and Dr Keith Scholey, Director of Silverback Films and Wildscreen Trustee

Admission is free but advance booking is essential through Eventbrite.  For further information about the lecture contact email bvi-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk

Further information

The 2017 Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture entitled The science of seeing differently by Dr Beau Lotto, neuroscientist, Founder and CEO of Lab of Misfits Studio, will take place on Friday 3 November at 6 pm at the University of Bristol, Lecture Room 1, School of Experimental Psychology, Priory Road Complex, Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU.

About Bristol Vision Institute (BVI)
Bristol Vision Institute (BVI) at the University of Bristol is a world leader in interdisciplinary vision research; it was formed in 2008 based on its strength across disciplines. It brings together some 170 associates from engineering, computer science, biological sciences, psychology, ophthalmology, history of art, film and television and medicine with the aim of addressing grand challenges in vision research.

BVI's annual lectures and regular seminars showcase the interdisciplinary nature of its work to a wide audience to promote understanding of the visual mechanisms and processes evolved in humans and other animals, and their translation to innovations in technology, medicine and the creative arts.

About Dr Beau Lotto
Beau Lotto is the founder of Lab of Misfits and is one of the few speakers to have given two TED talks, which have amassed over five million views combined. The Lab of Misfits turns the world into a lab as a way of enabling insights for companies and organisations. Beau has spoken at Google’s Zeitgeist Minds, Wired, G8 and made significant programme contributions to BBC Horizon, National Geographic Channel and PBS in the US.

Edit this page