Technologies of presence in Times of Absence with Marieke van Vugt

About this month's guest

Marieke van Vugt is an assistant professor in the cognitive modeling group at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands). She obtained her PhD with Michael Kahana in the neuroscience program of the University of Pennsylvania, after having spent one year at Brandeis University.
The main question that guides her research is: how do we think? In what ways do we mind-wander? When is it helpful, and when is it not? And how can we make our thinking more adaptive by means of contemplative practices such as mindfulness and meditation. She likes to use mathematical models and techniques to better understand those very complicated data. This model-based neuroscience approach allows us to think about the mechanism by which someone thinks, and make more detailed predictions than verbal models. In addition to that, she is fascinated by how two brains think together, which she investigates in the laboratory with EEG hyperscanning, but also in more real-life situations such as Tibetan monastic debate and dance performances.

About the seminar

Many people think Tibetan monks spend the majority of their time meditating quietly. Nothing could be further from the truth: study and debate are critical aspects of the monastic curriculum. In this talk, I will present my collaboration with Tibetan monks in which we jointly investigate how analytical meditation and monastic debate affect the brain and mind. Through this multicultural collaboration we not only learn about the embodied practice of monastic debate but also about cultural biases in the measurement instruments we are using

This is the last in a series of seven seminars called Technologies of Presence in Times of Absence that seeks to generate a space for discussion and reflection on the relevance of technologies of presence, defined as practices that deepen our relationship with ourselves and with our environment, for the challenges we face in current times. From May to December 2024, we will meet every first Tuesday of the Month.

These seminars are brought to you through a collaboration of A MATHA Escola de Fenomenologia Corporal and NEPSIS (Núcleo de Pesquisa em Saúde e Uso de Substâncias) of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP).