New research indicates that one way of measuring a person's intelligence could be in the pupil size of our eyes.
Australian science communicator Dr Jen Martin spoke at the WORD event Why Am I Like This? at The Piano in central Christchurch on Sunday 1 September. She said there was new research indicating that there was a close relationship between "resting-pupil size" and intelligence; the bigger the pupil the smarter we could be.
Dr Jen had come across this research in recent weeks and was keen to investigate further. "It Just freaks me out," she said.
It could be part of a new book the veteran science communicator and evolutionary biologist might write as a follow-up to her popular-science book Why Am I Like This? which was the basis of her discussion with former scientist and writer Tracy Farr at The Piano.
Why Am I Like This? presents several odd human behaviours and provides scientific explanations for those quirks.
Perhaps her favourite chapter was, "Why Does Silence Calm Me?" where she reported on research that found silence had a bigger impact on the brain than different types of noise including classical and rock music. During silence human brains go into a deep relaxation mode and engage in introspection and daydreaming. The impact of silence was greater in mice as they grew new brain cells during silent intervals.
"What does that say about our incredibly noisy world? Maybe I should carve out a bit more silence in my life."
The chapter that provoked the most comment was about the "doorway effect" or "Why don't I remember why I walked into this room?" Many people assumed this was a sign of growing older but Dr Jen said younger people reported this frustration as well. Studies revealed that we are more likely to forget something when walking through a doorway because our busy brains identify a doorway as a new experience and so automatically free-up some memory space to process the anticipated new information a new experience brings.
Since her book was published, Dr Jen had written many more articles that support podcasts and regular popular science slots on radio and television in Australia so she has plenty of material for a new book she was keen to theme on human relationships. You can follow her blog Espresso science.
She has long been fascinated in science and enjoyed as a child helping her father who studied Australian frogs. After completing her PhD in 2005-06 she became frustrated that complex scientific research was not being communicated to the public and became determined to change that. Despite initial scepticism amongst her academic colleagues, she has built a career around science communication that includes a training programme at the University of Melbourne where most post-graduate science students learn communication skills as part of their Masters qualification.
"Science has been so elitist but it belongs to everybody. Covid showed us that everyone should get science information that doesn't make them feel stupid."
Dr Jen wants science to be a big part of all our everyday lives, not just during crises, and wants us to be comfortable with it so that we feel: "Science is part of me; I'm a part of science. It's not [something] over there."
On that score she lamented the loss of the University of Otago's scientific film-making programme after funding was cut. She said Australia did not have a programme that matched it and "I'm just gutted at what's happened".
For 18 years Dr Jen has been talking about science each week on 3RRR radio, she writes for a variety of publications, hosts the Let’s Talk SciComm podcast and MCs events. She was named the 2019 Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication, is Ambassador for The Wilderness Society’s Nature Book Week and is a member of the Homeward Bound Faculty, a global leadership program for women and non-binary people in (STEMM Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine).
Find out more in our collection:
- Books on Psychology
- Books on Self-help
- Books on Neurology
- Check out the Mental Health resources in our Health subject guide
More WORD Christchurch
- WORD Christchurch website
- Follow WORD Christchurch on Instagram, Facebook and X FKA Twitter
- Our WORD Christchurch 2024 page - Find books by writers coming to this year's festival
Add a comment to: When it comes to brain power, the eyes just might have it!: WORD Christchurch 2024