The anatomy of creativity

Here's a question that has plagued philosophers, artists, and scientists alike for centuries: How was consciousness born?

Yo-Yo Ma (cello) and John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka (percussion) perform Self Comes to Mind, by Bruce Adolphe Photo: linkurl:Geoff McKonly;http://www.geoffmckonlyboatbuilding.com

One composer and a neuroscientist took a stab at answering the age-old question at a performance of a new musical work, "Self Comes to Mind," last Sunday (May 3), at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The piece weaves together music by composer linkurl:Bruce Adolphe,;http://bruceadolphe.com/ text written by neuroscientist linkurl:Antonio Damasio,;http://www.usc.edu/programs/neuroscience/faculty/profile.php?fid=27 and a video created from brain images of his wife and collaborator, linkurl:Hanna Damasio.;http://college.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-staff/faculty.cfm?pid=1008329&CFID=1186468&CFTOKEN=38061507 What results is an ethereal three-part creation story of the mind. The story tells of "the evolution of mind from brain," Adolphe told The Scientist in an interview the week before the performance. "It goes from the idea of a brain in a creature...