Instant Genius

Jim Davies: How do you use your imagination?


Listen Later

Imagine, just for one moment, that you’re flying. What can you see? How high up are you? Can you feel the rush of wind in your face? Keep these thoughts in mind while you listen to this week's podcast.

Your imagination is a strange old thing, with some people experiencing vivid senses while some struggle to picture anything at all. In this episode, we speak to Jim Davies, whose book, Imagination: The Science of Your Mind's Greatest Power (£21.99, Pegasus), sheds light on this mysterious function of the brain.

As you can imagine, we go deep into the neuroscience of conjuring up mental images, but we also find out why your memory doesn’t need to be perfect, the joys of playing video games after a bad day, the benefits of imaginary friends, and, rather bizarrely, how to make a better door.

If you have a burning science question you want an expert to answer, send them to us on twitter at @sciencefocus, and we may answer them in a future episode.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: AcastiTunesStitcherRSSOvercast

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

  • Dean Burnett: What’s going on in the teenage brain?
  • Gordon Wallace: Is an implantable electronic device the future of medicine?
  • Dr Guy Leschziner: What is your brain doing while you sleep?
  • Gustav Kuhn: Do you believe in magic?
  • Helen Russell: What does it mean to be happy?
  • Richard Wiseman: The mindset behind the Moon landing


  • Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Instant GeniusBy Our Media

    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4

    4.4

    68 ratings


    More shows like Instant Genius

    View all
    More or Less by BBC Radio 4

    More or Less

    892 Listeners

    The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

    The Documentary Podcast

    1,816 Listeners

    The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

    The Naked Scientists Podcast

    607 Listeners

    Ask the Naked Scientists by Dr Chris Smith

    Ask the Naked Scientists

    78 Listeners

    Health Check by BBC World Service

    Health Check

    89 Listeners

    Discovery by BBC World Service

    Discovery

    976 Listeners

    BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

    BBC Inside Science

    405 Listeners

    Science Weekly by The Guardian

    Science Weekly

    427 Listeners

    Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

    Inside Health

    86 Listeners

    Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

    Curious Cases

    823 Listeners

    The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

    The Life Scientific

    232 Listeners

    Science In Action by BBC World Service

    Science In Action

    333 Listeners

    Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

    Unexpected Elements

    358 Listeners

    CrowdScience by BBC World Service

    CrowdScience

    477 Listeners

    The world, the universe and us by New Scientist

    The world, the universe and us

    114 Listeners