Behavioral economics can explain some things, but it's hard to explain a lot of the underlying processes that generate these decisions, much less some of these unconscious things that we don't have a handle on at all.

Many of the projects that we do that appear quite successful, it's actually often the second or third time we've given it a try.

Maybe we'll understand more about how the universe came to be, and what forces drove it in the early days and which forces drive it now.

One of the things that got me transitioning from physical science to brain science was asking, Why do we understand so much about the universe?

It's surprising that the world is understandable to the extent that it is.

I think the definition will change as we learn more, but my working definition of solving the brain is: one, we can model, maybe in a computer, the processes that generate things like thoughts and feelings, and two, we can understand how to cure brain disorders, like Alzheimer's and epilepsy. Those are my two driving goals. One is more human-condition oriented, and one more clinical.

When I'm talking to somebody, I'll put a piece of paper on the table and I'll write what I call a conversation summary - notes about the conversation on the piece of paper. At the end of the conversation, I'll take a picture on my phone and give the other person the original piece of paper.