[Please excuse multiple copies]

I would like to invite you to the annual Macnamara Lecture, which will take place at 3:30pm on Friday November 24 in Room 522 of the McIntyre Medical Bldg (3655 promenade Sir William Osler). Please put this date into your schedule.

We have the good fortune to have as our speaker Susan Pinker who is world-renowned for her books on the gender gap ("The Sexual Paradox: Men, women, and the real gender gap") and more recently on the critical importance of face-to-face contact.

The title of her talk: "The Village Effect: Why Face to Face Contact Matters"

Abstract: In this lecture I will discuss some of the social neuroscientific and demographic evidence underpinning what I call The Village Effect: the influence of in-person contact on learning, resilience, productivity and longevity. Research over the last 15 years shows that from birth to death, human beings are wired to connect to other human beings. Tight bonds of affiliation, friendship, and love help us learn, extend our lives and allow us to assess and trust each other. Looser in-person bonds matter, too, combining with close relationships to form a personal "village" around us, one that exerts unique effects.

[Please forward this message to anyone who might be interested, such as your unit's email list.]

Thank you, Al

Albert S. Bregman, FRSC, Emeritus Professor Psychology Department, McGill University