96. Benjamin Ehrlich: Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the neuron doctrine, and combining art & science

Benjamin Ehrlich is the author of the recent biography of Santiago Ramon y Cajal (The brain in search of itself), and The Dreams of Santiago Ramon y Cajal. We talk about Cajal's life and work, Cajal's unlikely beginnings in a rural Spain, how he discovered that neurons were separate from each other, leading to the neutron doctrine, how Cajal became famous seemingly overnight, Cajal's rivalry with Camillo Golgi, the relationship between art and science, how to write a biography of someone whose autobiographical writings were heavily influenced by picaresque novels, and much more.BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreonTimestamps0:00:00: Why Cajal is worth talking about0:01:42: Cajal's father 0:04:48: Cajal's childhood0:17:22: Cajal's early work on the brain, and the status of neuroscience in the 1880s0:23:45: The conference that made Cajal famous0:29:42: Cajal's years as a famous scientist0:35:33: Cajal's personality0:41:14: Cajal & Golgi's rivalry0:45:48: del Rio and the discovery of glia cells0:49:13: Picaresque novels and the difficulty of trusting Cajal's stories of himself1:02:52: A book or paper more people should read1:04:14: Something Ben wishes he'd learnt sooner1:04:57: Advice for PhD students/postdocs - people in a transitory periodPodcast linksWebsite: https://geni.us/bjks-podTwitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twtBen (Ehrlich)'s linksWebsite: http://www.benehrlich.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/benehrlich11Ben (Kuper-Smith)'s linksWebsite: https://geni.us/bjks-webGoogle Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholarTwitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twtReferences & linksKölliker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_von_K%C3%B6llikerGolgi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Golgidel Rio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%ADo_del_R%C3%ADo_HortegaCalvino (1972). Invisible cities.Ehrlich (2017). The Dreams of Santiago Ramón y Cajal.Ehrlich (2022). The brain in search of itself: Santiago Ramón y Cajal and the story of the neuron.Pitlor & Lee (editors). The Best American Short Stories 2023 .