Theodore Schwartz on Neurosurgery, Consciousness, and Brain-Computer Interfaces | Convos with Tyler
Theodore Schwartz stands at the pinnacle of neurosurgical expertise. With over 500 published articles, 200 pieces of commentary, and 5 patents to his name—effectively producing a scholarly work every two weeks for three decades—Schwartz spent most of his career at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he pioneered new minimally-invasive surgical techniques and led the Epilepsy Research Laboratory, among many (many) other things. His recent book Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery offers readers an insider's view of one of medicine's most demanding specialties.
Tyler and Ted discuss how the training for a neurosurgeon could be shortened, the institutional factors preventing AI from helping more in neurosurgery, how to pick a good neurosurgeon, the physical and mental demands of the job, why so few women are currently in the field, whether the brain presents the ultimate bottleneck to radical life extension, why he thinks free will is an illusion, the success of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for neurological conditions, the promise of brain-computer interfaces, what studying epilepsy taught him about human behavior, the biggest bottleneck limiting progress in brain surgery, why he thinks Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, the Ted Schwartz production function, the new company he’s starting, and much more.
Recorded January 31st, 2025
Transcript and links: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/theodore-schwartz/
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - On neurosurgery, consciousness, and brain-computer interfaces
00:07:53 - On how to pick a good neurosurgeon
00:17:57 - On the personal demands of the job
00:24:30 - On the brain and longevity
00:29:01 - On deep brain stimulation and other neurological treatments
00:34:31 - On brain-computer interfaces
00:40:08 - On shock therapy and epilepsy
00:43:57 - On the future of brain surgery
00:50:34 - On the Ted Schwartz production function
Theodore Schwartz stands at the pinnacle of neurosurgical expertise. With over 500 published articles, 200 pieces of commentary, and 5 patents to his name—effectively producing a scholarly work every two weeks for three decades—Schwartz spent most of his career at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he pioneered new minimally-invasive surgical techniques and led the Epilepsy Research Laboratory, among many (many) other things. His recent book Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery offers readers an insider’s view of one of medicine’s most demanding specialties.
Tyler and Ted discuss how the training for a neurosurgeon could be shortened, the institutional factors preventing AI from helping more in neurosurgery, how to pick a good neurosurgeon, the physical and mental demands of the job, why so few women are currently in the field, whether the brain presents the ultimate bottleneck to radical life extension, why he thinks free will is an illusion, the success of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for neurological conditions, the promise of brain-computer interfaces, what studying epilepsy taught him about human behavior, the biggest bottleneck limiting progress in brain surgery, why he thinks Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, the Ted Schwartz production function, the new company he’s starting, and much more.
Recorded January 31st, 2025
Transcript and links: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/theodore-schwartz/
Stay connected:
Follow us on X, IG, and Facebook: @cowenconvos
https://www.twitter.com/cowenconvos
https://www.facebook.com/cowenconvos
https://www.instagram.com/cowenconvos
Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/JAVWP7vTxt
Home
https://mercatus.org
Timestamps
00:00:00 – On neurosurgery, consciousness, and brain-computer interfaces
00:07:53 – On how to pick a good neurosurgeon
00:17:57 – On the personal demands of the job
00:24:30 – On the brain and longevity
00:29:01 – On deep brain stimulation and other neurological treatments
00:34:31 – On brain-computer interfaces
00:40:08 – On shock therapy and epilepsy
00:43:57 – On the future of brain surgery
00:50:34 – On the Ted Schwartz production function
