FlexiLingo
From Restoring Sight to Reimagining the Brain, with Max Hodak
Max Hodak, co-founder and CEO of Science.xyz, joins Sarah Guo to discuss the future of vision, brain-computer interfaces, and the human experience. Max explains how Science’s PRIMA retinal implant could restore functional vision for people who have lost their sight, and why treating the brain as a computational system could unlock new approaches to medicine. They explore the broader potential of neural devices, from restoring lost capabilities to expanding human potential, as well as deeper questions around identity, consciousness, and whether the human experience can persist as our biological hardware changes. Max also sh...
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B2 · Upper-intermediate
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You can solve computational problems by arranging matter in a certain way,
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 84% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 190 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 208 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
The brain very literally, very clearly, plainly is a computer. You can solve computational problems by arranging matter in a certain way, and then like taking your hands off and pressing go. We talk about being a brain in a vat.
That's what the skull is. Like the brain is connected to the environment through a small number of wires, the cranial and spinal nerves, these little cables that carry your interaction with the world. If you can get the visual signal, auditory signal, balance, motor,
in and out of the brain, that isn't end in itself. That is the central object. The retinal prosthesis right now, I think, is a great proof of concept that we're on the right track. Nobody had previously ever been able to restore a form vision image in the mind's eye of a blind patient in this way.
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (31 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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