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Freshman Seminar; This introductory class will highlight some of the key findings in neuroscience over the past century and a half that have revolutionized our understanding of how the brain works. The goal is to convey both the essence of, and the excitement surrounding, neuroscience breakthroughs that caused paradigm-shifts. We will also look at recent neuroscience-related headlines in popular media and unpack them from a scientific perspective. Topics covered will include “Is the brain just one big lump of tissue?”, “Telephones in the brain?”, “The frog with upside-down vision”, “Brains vs. hard-drives”, “Monkey see=monkey do neurons”, Epigenetics, “Changing the brain’s wiring diagram”, “Do ants have GPS?”, The science behind the movie ‘Memento’, “Implanting false memories into brains”, “My brain sees you, but I don’t”, etc. For each big question, we will first examine the thinking that previously existed, and then explore the shift in thinking.