# David Eagleman on Reddit (u/Dr_David_Eagleman)

Part of Scientists on Reddit, researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-07. Interactive version: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/scientists-on-reddit/david-eagleman

David Eagleman: Neuroscientist and author of Livewired.

- Reddit account: [u/Dr_David_Eagleman](https://www.reddit.com/user/Dr_David_Eagleman/) (AMA only)
- How we know it's theirs: [The 2014 r/science AMA, posted from this account](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/2hzhjf/)
- Where they post, in the records we retrieved: r/IAmA (17), r/science (16)
- Known activity in the posts we found: 2014 to 2020
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eagleman

## Moments

### u/Dr_David_Eagleman in r/IAmA, Aug 26, 2020 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> What are some myths about the brain you are tired of debunking?

> One of the stickiest myths is that we use only 3% (or 5%, or 10%) of our brains. In fact, we use all of the brain, all of the time (even when we're asleep). I suspect the myth sticks around because of its inherent hopefulness: it makes us feel as though we could be a lot smarter if we just could just unlock some secret. :-)

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ih4x52/comment/g2xvaap/ · 4 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Dr_David_Eagleman in r/IAmA, Aug 26, 2020 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> * What do psychedelic states tell us about the brain? * What's one practical way in which anyone can utilize the plasticity of the brain to improve their lives? * Is there any potentially negative (or non-beneficial) implication of brain plasticity? Editing to say thank you for…

> 3) In the book I address the issue that older people often say they would want the brain plasticity of young people. But there may be a philosophical problem here. The reason your brain has less plasticity as you age is because you have developed a better and better model of the world. If you could suddenly take a magical pill that gave you lots of brain plasticity again, you would forget your memories, your language, how to properly interact with other people, the rules of functioning in your culture, etc.  So that would be the downside to increasing plasticity.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ih4x52/comment/g2xy54x/ · 5 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Dr_David_Eagleman in r/IAmA, Aug 26, 2020 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> What tradeoffs are there when expanding our senses with wearables, e.g. disrupting attention spans?

> Imagine that you had a friend born blind, and she were to say to you "how in the world can you concentrate when you are capturing and analyzing billions of photons all the time? Don't you find that overwhelming?"  Or imagine you have a deaf friend who says "how could you possibly concentrate when you're getting bombarded with air compression waves that carry information about all of the world around you?"
> The fact is, new senses get incorporated into our daily lives such that they are somewhere between interesting and boring, but we don't really need to attend to them very much at all.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ih4x52/comment/g2xz8s7/ · 2 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/Dr_David_Eagleman in r/IAmA, Aug 26, 2020 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> Ever thought about designing contact lenses that could make you see UV/IR ? In the same way that you can feel them using the wristband designed by your company?

> Would be great, although quite a technological challenge. However, note that in LIVEWIRED I discuss the fact that some people with cataracts will get a synthetic lens put in their eye... and that lens can pass UV light through (unlike your normal lens).  So they actually get UV light perception for free.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ih4x52/comment/g2xxa87/ · 2 points as of Nov 7, 2026