Nora Bär, a science and health journalist at La Nación, was one of the winners of the «From Science to Philosophy» science journalism award presented by the Institute of Philosophy at the Universidad Austral as part of the research project «Determinism and Indeterminism: From Science to Philosophy,» supported by the John Templeton Foundation. You can learn more about the Second Science Journalism Article Contest here.

The awarded piece was an interview with neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene, who made significant discoveries about the human capacity to process signs. The interview in spanish is titled «El cerebro no funciona como una computadora»

In a brief interview, Nora explains the implications of this recognition for her professional work:

What is your opinion on awards that encourage dialogue between the sciences?

They are a good incentive because we are in a time when everyone in the field of science realizes that the best ideas emerge from dialogue between disciplines. A discipline that stays within its own boundaries needs to break down borders to achieve more ambitious and creative ideas. I believe this is the path that science in general is taking: transdisciplinarity. The most valuable ideas can arise from there.

In what way do you think neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene contributed to this dialogue through his research?

He is one of the leading figures in neuroscience because he focused on studying unique human abilities, such as reading and mathematics, by investigating the brain’s origin of these processes. His discoveries not only shed light on the inner workings of the human brain but also provide a foundation for approaching reading instruction and what many call «neuro-education.» This also has philosophical significance.