In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive scientist, contemplative practitioner, and ballet dancer Marieke Van Vugt. Marieke is a pioneer in studying mind wandering and meditation through computer modeling, and is also advancing participatory research through her collaborations with Tibetan monastics. This conversation covers many topics, including:
- her braided interests in meditation, dance, and cognitive science;
- computer modeling of mind and meditation;
- exploring distraction, mind wandering, and becoming aware;
- how thoughts can get "stuck" in our minds;
- creating a meditating computer;
- the relevance of stuck thoughts to various mental disorders;
- trauma through the lens of predictive models of mind;
- analytical meditation and Tibetan monastic debate;
- collaborating with monastics in research;
- humility and fluidity of mind;
- re-thinking the tasks used in cognitive science;
- the phenomenon of brain synchrony;
- dance and embodiment;
- the roots of thinking in the body;
- problems with abstraction in science;
- curiosity vs. the critical mind in ballet;
- flow, responsiveness, and compassion;
- and advice to young scholars.
Full show notes and resources
