Connecting with tiny insect brains through virtual reality | Dr. Shannon Olsson | TEDxChennai
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Dr. Shannon Olsson |
TEDxChennai
• March 2018
In this talk, Shannon takes us on a journey to understand our own decisions through the eyes of a most humble creature – the fly. Using her lab’s newly developed insect virtual reality system, she shows us how our two worlds
are similar in many ways. Dr. Shannon Olsson heads the Naturalist-Inspired Chemical Ecology (NICE) group at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bangalore. The NICE is particularly interested in how animals, and especially insects, identify objects across different environments. Their work traverses Himalayan meadows, ecologically sustainable agriculture in Coorg, and pollution in Bangalore - anywhere insects are important, which is nearly everywhere on Earth.
A Fulbright Scholar and Ramanujan Fellow, Shannon's research strives to reach a deeper connection with nature that she calls empathic science. By putting ourselves in the world of some of our smallest, but most important inhabitants, we not only gain an understanding of our natural world and its preservation, but we understand ourselves.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx