What makes us smart? This is the overarching question that Dr. Sam Gershman is researching at this lab in Harvard's psychology department. How is it that we make so many mistakes as humans, such as certain cases of cognitive biases or heuristics, but on the other hand there are accounts of human cognition that suggest that we're somewhat close to functioning optimally? Is there a way to reconcile these two conflicting concepts? Dr. Gershman is investigating just that. During our discussion, he provides insight into how two sets of biases specifically (inductive and computational) are error-inducing and, simultaneously, make rational sense. What's most interesting is that his computational cognitive neuroscientific work isn't just limited to humans. He also looks at single-celled organisms to study their ability to learn. The findings he uses from these specimens provide additional fuel to theories and a richer understanding of how humans might neurobiologically acquire knowledge as well. Our conversation delves deep into a myriad of topics that will leave you in awe at how we get to be as smart as we are.