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Neuro Smackdown: Scientists Debate How to Solve the Mystery of the Brain

How Grand a Vision?

Does the brain’s wiring really make us who we are? Two hot-shot scientists confront the question in a Columbia University face-off. By Casey Schwartz.

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UCLA Human Connectome Project

Early Monday evening at Columbia University’s main campus, a grad student in a white lab coat stood outside Havermayer Hall, holding a cardboard sign. “Will analyze data for tickets,” it said.

His odds were long and getting longer, as throngs of people began streaming into the old-fashioned lecture hall for the...

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