Marieke Van Vugt Finding Balance
b'In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive scientist, contemplative practitioner, and ballet dancer Marieke Van Vugt. Marieke is a pioneer in studying mind wandering and meditation through computer modeling, and is also advancing participatory research through her collaborations with Tibetan monastics. This conversation covers many topics, including:\\n \\n \\nher braided interests in meditation, dance, and cognitive science;\\n \\ncomputer modeling of mind and meditation;\\n \\nexploring distraction, mind wandering, and becoming aware;\\n \\nhow thoughts can get "stuck" in our minds;\\n \\ncreating a meditating computer;\\n \\nthe relevance of stuck thoughts to various mental disorders;\\n \\ntrauma through the lens of predictive models of mind;\\n \\nanalytical meditation and Tibetan monastic debate;\\n \\ncollaborating with monastics in research;\\n \\nhumility and fluidity of mind;\\n \\nre-thinking the tasks used in cognitive science;\\n \\nthe phenomenon of brain synchrony;\\n \\ndance and embodiment;\\n \\nthe roots of thinking in the body;\\n \\nproblems with abstraction in science;\\n \\ncuriosity vs. the critical mind in ballet;\\n \\nflow, responsiveness, and compassion;\\n \\nand advice to young scholars.\\nFull show notes and resources'