# @worldsciencefestival on YouTube - **Type:** Video - **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=DB5YEPnyQA8 - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69976958-worldsciencefestival-youtube - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/2837bb0440.jpg - **Posted:** 2026-09-04T23:00:06.000+00:00 - **Account Owner:** WorldScienceFestival (@WorldSciFest) — https://gondola.cc/WorldSciFest ## Caption How does your brain know where you are, even in the dark? Brian Greene speaks with Edvard Moser, Nobel laureate and director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, about the discovery of grid cells, the brain's internal coordinate system for space. Moser explains how these cells fire in a precise hexagonal pattern that mathematically forms a torus, and why this internal map exists before an animal ever learns to use it. They trace the story from the discovery of place cells in the 1970s through evidence that the same system appears in flies, bats, and humans, and explore why Moser believes our sense of space itself may be a construct the brain imposes on the world. The conversation closes on what this internal mapping system reveals about memory, Alzheimer's disease, and the far edges of artificial intelligence. #worldsciencefestival #briangreene #edvardmoser #mathematics Participant: Edvard Moser Moderator: Brian Greene Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/worldsciencefestival?sub_confirmation=1 ABOUT WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL: The World Science Festival (WSF) is a multimedia organization bringing the most transformative ideas in science to global audiences. Through long- and short-form videos spanning physics, cosmology, quantum mechanics, biology, neuroscience, consciousness, medicine, space exploration, the dilemma of free will, artificial intelligence, engineering, robotics, and beyond. WSF gathers world-renowned scientists, artists, and thinkers for dynamic discussions, debates, lectures, performances, films, and immersive live experiences. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, the World Science Festival is a production of the World Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to cultivate a public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future. With live events reaching millions worldwide and hundreds of millions of digital views, WSF continues to expand its global impact through festivals, educational initiatives like World Science U, and digital content that explores the near and far future of our world. FOLLOW WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL: Website: https://worldsciencefestival.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldscifest/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@worldscifest X(Twitter): https://twitter.com/worldscifest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldsciencefestival LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-science-festival Chapters: 00:00 Welcome, Edvard Moser 05:06 Place Cells: The Discovery That Started It All 07:57 Can a Rat Navigate in Complete Darkness? 08:53 An Internal Map the Brain Is Born With 12:06 Head Direction Cells: The Brain's Built-In Compass 14:50 Grid Cells: What They Are and How Moser Found Them 17:27 The Accidental Discovery in a Large Arena 20:12 The Grid Cell Hierarchy 25:10 Three-Dimensional Navigation 27:31 Have Grid Cells Been Studied in Humans? 30:02 Is This the Most Efficient Solution to the Navigation Problem? 34:27 The Torus: How the Brain's Map Becomes a Mathematical Object 37:01 Using Topology to Prove the Shape Is a Torus 42:56 Is Space a Human Construct? 44:51 Grid Cells Beyond Navigation 45:22 Would AI Independently Discover the Same Map? 47:36 Does Spending Your Life Studying the Brain Change How You See It? 50:23 What Alzheimer's Disease Reveals About Grid Cells and Memory 51:26 Does Knowing the Science Change the Experience of Navigation? How Does Your Brain Know Where You Are? | World Science Festival https://youtu.be/DB5YEPnyQA8 ## Stats - **Views:** 45,579 - **Likes:** 541 - **Shares:** 0 - **Comments:** 65 ## Tags worldsciencefestival, edvardmoser, briangreene, mathematics --- Copyright (c) Gondola