--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people hear that I'm a…" description: "\"When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again after his stroke?' 'How can my son overcome ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg" --- # When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me… ![“When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again after his stroke?' 'How can my son overcome his dyslexia?' 'What could have caused my best friend to become schizophrenic?' When I can't give satisfying answers, they look disappointed - and…” quote by Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg) > “When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again after his stroke?' 'How can my son overcome his dyslexia?' 'What could have caused my best friend to become schizophrenic?' When I can't give satisfying answers, they look disappointed - and I feel embarrassed.” [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People expect neuroscientists to have answers for all brain-related problems, leading to embarrassment when they cannot provide definitive solutions. **In simple terms:** People expect quick fixes from experts, causing discomfort when answers are uncertain. Key Takeaway Acknowledge limits and guide toward resources. Themes expectations communication uncertainty Mood anxious empathetic Type educational reflective When to use this quote - Medical consultations - patient education - media interviews - public speaking Key Concepts Neuroscience public perception ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you set realistic expectations? - What resources can you offer when uncertain? A Different Perspective Expertise has boundaries; not all questions have clear answers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) [Disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) [Dyslexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexia/) [Embarrassed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassed/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Neuroscientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neuroscientist/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Satisfying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfying/) [Schizophrenic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schizophrenic/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Tough questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-questions/) ## Related quotes > [Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me to lose my speech. Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/fifteen-years-ago-i-suffered-a-stroke-which-caused-me-to-lose-my/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [“I dropped out of computer engineering, and became Monk Scientist, to humanize the divine and divinize the human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-dropped-out-of-computer-engineering-and-became-monk-scientist-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“If only for a day, I got to be "Dr. Harris, Neuroscientist" again... It felt nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/if-only-for-a-day-i-got-to-be-dr-harris-neuroscientist-again-it-felt/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [As a cognitive neuroscientist and scholar of reading, I am particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/as-a-cognitive-neuroscientist-and-scholar-of-reading-i-am/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I am an educator and neuroscientist who studies how the brain learns to read and what happens when a young brain can't learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-educator-and-neuroscientist-who-studies-how-the-brain-learns/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Antonio Damasio is a distinguished neuroscientist with a flair for writing about science and an enthusiasm for philosophizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/antonio-damasio-is-a-distinguished-neuroscientist-with-a-flair-for/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Sometimes when you're listening to a neuroscientist, they have a tendency to use a particular type of jargon that works in their world perfectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/sometimes-when-you-re-listening-to-a-neuroscientist-they-have-a/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [“Its true that we learn a lot from science about how we function but there’s a danger in thinking knowledge of how we function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/its-true-that-we-learn-a-lot-from-science-about-how-we-function-but/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel says we are who we are because of what we learn and what we remember. Who am I, then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-bartok/nobel-prize-winning-neuroscientist-eric-kandel-says-we-are-who-we-are/) [Mira Bartok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-bartok/) > [“A few years ago, Tor Wager, a neuroscientist at Columbia University, wanted to figure out why placebos were so effective. His experiment was brutally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/a-few-years-ago-tor-wager-a-neuroscientist-at-columbia-university/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/high-price-a-neuroscientist-s-journey-of-self-discovery-that/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [“- I'm a Neuroscientist. - What's that? What do you study? - I study your brain!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vardan-hambardzumyan/i-m-a-neuroscientist-what-s-that-what-do-you-study-i-study-your-brain/) Vardan Hambardzumyan > [“how does it feel,' wonders the neuroscientist Christof Koch, 'to bhe the mute hemisphere, permanently encased in one skull in the company of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-leslie/how-does-it-feel-wonders-the-neuroscientist-christof-koch-to-bhe-the/) Ian Leslie > [“Names Behind Naskar (Sonnet) The world often wonders about my influences, in doing so it often cooks up fake inspiration. So I write this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/names-behind-naskar-sonnet-the-world-often-wonders-about-my/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Political journalists love graduate student intelligence, the ability to make clever allusions in seminars, and in 1999-2000 they hassled George W. Bush for not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/political-journalists-love-graduate-student-intelligence-the-ability/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) ## More by Sebastian Seung > [I'm tremendously optimistic about the future of my discipline, yet understanding the brain is so difficult that we neuroscientists need help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/i-m-tremendously-optimistic-about-the-future-of-my-discipline-yet/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [To find better means of fixing the brain, we first need to achieve something more fundamental. We must understand how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/to-find-better-means-of-fixing-the-brain-we-first-need-to-achieve/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [The brain is behind the really big questions we have. Who am I, what is my identity? What is that based on? If memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/the-brain-is-behind-the-really-big-questions-we-have-who-am-i-what-is/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [There are many ways in which genes influence the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/there-are-many-ways-in-which-genes-influence-the-brain/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [Ask not what the brain can do for the computer. Ask what the computer can do for the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/ask-not-what-the-brain-can-do-for-the-computer-ask-what-the-computer/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [The neural code usually refers to how your current thoughts and feelings and perceptions are encoded in the signals that neurons are passing around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/the-neural-code-usually-refers-to-how-your-current-thoughts-and/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) > [If we can map the retina, that will help us understand how it functions in vision, as well as devise new ways of repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/if-we-can-map-the-retina-that-will-help-us-understand-how-it/) [Sebastian Seung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) [Explore all 8 Sebastian Seung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/) ## More After quotes > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. It's there with a bunch of other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/at-the-drop-of-a-hat-people-will-say-there-are-no-roles-for-women/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [I was strictly after hits when it came down to the Jackson 5. That's all I was concerned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-richards/i-was-strictly-after-hits-when-it-came-down-to-the-jackson-5-that-s/) Deke Richards > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [See to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/see-to-do-good-and-you-will-find-that-happiness-will-run-after-you/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [After The Wizard Of Oz I was typecast as a lion, and there aren't all that many parts for lions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-lahr/after-the-wizard-of-oz-i-was-typecast-as-a-lion-and-there-aren-t-all/) Bert Lahr > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [I'd like an omelet named after me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-sewell/i-d-like-an-omelet-named-after-me/) [Rufus Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-sewell/) Browse all 3,411 After quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again after his stroke?' 'How can my son overcome his dyslexia?' 'What could have caused my best friend to become schizophrenic?' When I can't give satisfying answers, they look disappointed - and I feel embarrassed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sebastian Seung" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscientist-they-ask-me-tough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "After" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscientist-they-ask-me-tough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sebastian-seung-49066_after_when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscienti_3003030.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again…” — Sebastian Seung", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sebastian Seung", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-seung/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When people hear that I'm a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscientist-they-ask-me-tough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-seung/when-people-hear-that-i-m-a-neuroscientist-they-ask-me-tough/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```