New Scientist Live – Community Screening & Conversation
Session 1: How the Brain Invents Your Reality
by Dr Daniel Yon

This is a community screening and discussion of a talk from New Scientist Live, one of the world’s leading science festivals that brings together scientists, researchers, authors, and thinkers to share the latest ideas shaping our understanding of the world.

Our first screening features “How the Brain Invents Your Reality” by Dr Daniel Yon, neuroscientist and author of A Trick of the Mind. In this 50-minute presentation (in English), Dr Yon explores how our brains actively construct what we experience as reality — how perception, expectations, and prior experiences shape what we see, feel, and believe.

This session is ideal for anyone curious about humans, the mind, and how the brain works. Parents, older children, and students are all welcome.

The screening will be followed by a guided conversation, facilitated by senior students from Walking Ferns. Where required, we will support translation or explanation during or after the screening, so that ideas are accessible to everyone present.

If the group is interested and time permits, we may include one or two additional short screenings from the New Scientist Live archive on the same day.

Why New Scientist Live?

New Scientist Live is an international science event organised by New Scientist magazine, known for making cutting-edge research accessible to the public. The talks are designed not as academic lectures, but as clear, engaging conversations that connect science to everyday life.

By curating and screening these talks locally, Walking Ferns is trying to bring high-quality global science conversations into small, shared learning spaces, where children and adults can think together, ask questions, and reflect, without needing to travel far or sit through formal classrooms.

To our knowledge, this kind of community-based screening and discussion of New Scientist Live content is rare in Kerala, and we are excited to experiment with this format in small, thoughtful settings.

Hosting a screening

We are happy to bring this screening to small groups if:

• There is a willing audience

• The host can help with basic logistics (space, screen/projector, sound)

• Travel and local support for the student facilitators is taken care of

If you are interested in hosting a session at your home, school, or community space, please get in touch.

Contribution: 100 per head