Dr. Michael Merzenich is an author, entrepreneur and an educator, who won the Kavli Prize for neuroscience in 2016. He is the co-founder and chief scientist at Posit Science of San Francisco that makes brain training software products.

In our 2-part series of conversation we spoke to Dr.Merzenich about what drew him to study the brain, his research in neuroscience and why he decided to become an entrepreneur. We also spoke to him about his childhood and the role that his grandfather played in shaping his world view and ignited his interest in science and math. We also spoke to him about the role of love and kindness in one’s life and how that colors our view of the world.

In Part-2 of our conversation with Dr.Merzenich we find out how from being a scientist and teacher at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to becoming an entrepreneur and starting a company called Posit Science.

Becoming an entrepreneur was not an easy task since he had to learn the building blocks of how to file for patents, start a company and raise money. The process did not deter him, instead Dr. Merzenich went about learning the ropes of building a business and succeeded. How do you harness the power of the brain is 

In Part-1 of our conversation with  Dr. Merzenich we find out how he became interested in studying the brain and how that led him to study brain plasticity and neuro plasticity. What he discovered through his research is the brain’s capacity to change and learn new things and this was different from the line of thinking that the wiring in our brains is fixed for life. “We each have a unique machine (brain) that is just made for us,”  shares Dr. Merzenich. It turns out that our brains are not fixed for life and the ability to change is a life-long process says Dr. Merzenich.