Spring Break
Power of the pen
Elie Sternberg '09 and Tara Lengsfelder '07 have transformed adolescent
by Shana D. Lebowitz
Features Editor
Features | 5/1/07
Posted online at 11:39 PM EST on 4/30/07
/ Last updated at 4:45 AM EST on 4/30/07
At 17, Elie Sternberg '09 was like most teenagers, pondering questions of self-identity such as "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" At the same age, Tara Lengsfelder '07 was struggling with issues surrounding self-mutilation and self-love.
Both Sternberg and Lengsfelder have taken their struggles to the page, penning books that they hope will help others answer questions they dealt with as teenagers.
Sternberg, who has presented his book, Are You A Machine?: The Brain, the Mind, and What it Means to be Human to philosophy classes at Brandeis and Harvard University, said the University may even make it required reading for the Class of 2011.
The book focuses on what differentiates human beings from robots and relates the workings of the human brain to his philosophical analysis. It was published in January by Prometheus Publishers in his native Buffalo, N.Y.
As Sternberg carefully reviews the main points of his novel, his passion becomes almost palpable. He meditates briefly between sentences, wondering how best to summarize each idea, and suddenly the calm, easy-going 19-year-old is lost to the older, wiser philosopher.
"If everything we do is because of little chemicals mixing around in our brain," Sternberg explained, "what differentiates us from a robot? What's unique about us that can't be replicated in machines?"
The double neuroscience and philosophy major can trace his interest in the human brain back to an especially memorable lesson in high school, Sternberg recalls sitting in his Advanced Placement Biology class: "We were talking about something in the brain and someone said, 'Oh, is that why people [behave this way?]' The teacher said, 'Yes' and went into this whole speech about how interactions in the brain cause people to behave in certain ways."
After reading a philosophical article about the possibility of building conscious machines in Scientific American magazine, Sternberg said he knew he wanted to explore philosophical questions of artificial intelligence. "I think that philosophy is very useful in helping guide the questions and research."
Both Sternberg and Lengsfelder have taken their struggles to the page, penning books that they hope will help others answer questions they dealt with as teenagers.
Sternberg, who has presented his book, Are You A Machine?: The Brain, the Mind, and What it Means to be Human to philosophy classes at Brandeis and Harvard University, said the University may even make it required reading for the Class of 2011.
The book focuses on what differentiates human beings from robots and relates the workings of the human brain to his philosophical analysis. It was published in January by Prometheus Publishers in his native Buffalo, N.Y.
As Sternberg carefully reviews the main points of his novel, his passion becomes almost palpable. He meditates briefly between sentences, wondering how best to summarize each idea, and suddenly the calm, easy-going 19-year-old is lost to the older, wiser philosopher.
"If everything we do is because of little chemicals mixing around in our brain," Sternberg explained, "what differentiates us from a robot? What's unique about us that can't be replicated in machines?"
The double neuroscience and philosophy major can trace his interest in the human brain back to an especially memorable lesson in high school, Sternberg recalls sitting in his Advanced Placement Biology class: "We were talking about something in the brain and someone said, 'Oh, is that why people [behave this way?]' The teacher said, 'Yes' and went into this whole speech about how interactions in the brain cause people to behave in certain ways."
After reading a philosophical article about the possibility of building conscious machines in Scientific American magazine, Sternberg said he knew he wanted to explore philosophical questions of artificial intelligence. "I think that philosophy is very useful in helping guide the questions and research."
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