Iain McGilchrist at the ‘BrainBar’ Festival
Thursday-Friday, 18th-19th September, 2025, at the House of Music Hungary
Brain Bar is Europe’s largest future festival, where scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and cultural personalities debate the most important issues of the 21st century. Since 2015, our festival has hosted world-renowned speakers such as sci-fi visionary Ted Chiang, PayPal founder Peter Thiel, the world’s most awarded chef Massimo Bottura, world-renowned economist Mariana Mazzucato, astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station, and Sophia, the planet’s most famous humanoid robot. Brain Bar is visited by thousands of students and teachers every year, who can register for free. Our audiences are also made up of curious and eager-to-improve professionals from all over the world who make a conscious effort to keep their minds fresh.
Dr. Iain McGilchrist
Psychiatrist and Philosopher
We are in the midst of intellectual suicide — says Dr. Iain McGilchrist, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and philosopher. An author of several books, he is known for his hemisphere hypothesis: according to this view, left-hemisphere thinking aims to manipulate and control the world — and the fact we built our civilizations on it is leading to immense destruction. Why is the right hemisphere actually the more intelligent one? Why should we see the left not as our intellectual leader, but as a useful servant? And why is it urgently necessary to restore a holistic view? Come and join the conversation with him at Brain Bar.
Want to catch up with this special speaker at the festival and ask your burning questions? Grab your ticket — or if you’re a student or teacher, sign up for a free pass!