Erik Hoel

Erik Hoel is an American neuroscientist,[1] neurophilosopher[2] and fiction writer. His main areas of research are the study and philosophy of consciousness, cognition, biological function of dreams, and mathematical theories of emergence. He is noted for using information theory and causal analysis to develop mathematical models to explore and understand the basis of consciousness and dreams.[3][4][5][6] Hoel holds a PhD degree in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and in 2018 was recipient of Forbes 30 Under 30 – Science.[7] He is currently working as a research assistant professor at Tufts University.[8]

Erik Hoel
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Hampshire College
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience, Cognitive Science, Neurophilosophy
InstitutionsTufts University
Columbia University
Doctoral advisorGiulio Tononi
Websitewww.erikphoel.com

Research career

Hoel was previously a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Rafael Yuste at Columbia University,[9] and a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.[10] He is known for the idea of "causal emergence", a formal theory about how macroscales of systems can have stronger causal relationships than their underlying microscale.[11] He has also developed the overfitted brain hypothesis, on how dreams evolved as a way to prevent overfitting during learning.[4][5]

Writing career

Erik also writes essays that have been published in The Atlantic,[12] The Baffler,[13] among others.[14] Andre Dubus III tutored Hoel on writing when he was 13.[15]

Hoel writes on substack, his blog is called The Intrinsic Perspective.

The Revelations

Erik also authored a literary fiction novel The Revelations, a mystery set at New York University concerning a fictional scholarship program that brings together eight young consciousness researchers, one of whom is murdered.[16] Publishers Weekly called it "a dizzying, impressive debut".[17]

Personal life

Erik's mother is Sue Little, who operates Jabberwocky Books bookstore for more than 50 years. He is married to Julia Buntaine Hoel, a fellow neuroscientist, artist and the founder of the SciArt Initiative. They have a son, Roman, born in 2021.[15]

Bibliography
Fiction
  • Hoel, Erik (2021). The Revelations: A Novel (First ed.). New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419750229.
Selected publications[18]

See also

References
  1. "New Math Untangles the Mysterious Nature of Causality". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  2. Horgan, John. "Second Thoughts on Whether Self-Knowledge Is Overrated". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  3. "A Theory of Reality as More Than the Sum of Its Parts". Quanta Magazine. 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  4. "New Math Untangles the Mysterious Nature of Causality". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  5. "Weird dreams train us for the unexpected, says new theory". the Guardian. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  6. "Weird Dreams Keep Our Brains Fit, Help Humans Cope Better with Reality, Finds Study". www.news18.com. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  7. "Erik Hoel". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  8. "Erik Hoel | Department of Biology". as.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  9. "Can we locate cause and effect in the brain?". giving.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  10. "Erik Hoel - Scholars | Institute for Advanced Study". www.ias.edu. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  11. Musser, George (2017-05-04). "A Theory of Consciousness Can Help Build a Theory of Everything". Nautilus. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  12. Hoel, Erik P. (2015-10-21). "'City on Fire': Will Television Ruin Fiction?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  13. "Enter the Supersensorium | Erik Hoel". The Baffler. 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  14. "Is there a scientific case for literature? A neuroscientist novelist argues yes". Salon. 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  15. Correspondent, James Sullivan Globe; June 28, Updated. "Jabberwocky Books hatches a new novelist: the owner's son - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  16. "Bookish: Mixing Science and Fiction in a Literary Novel". Tufts Now. 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  17. "Fiction Book Review: The Revelations by Erik Hoel. Overlook, $27 (368p) ISBN 978-1-4197-5022-9". PublishersWeekly.com. November 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  18. "Science". ERIK HOEL. Retrieved 10 May 2022.


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