Parsing the Knowledge of London cabbies

Insights in route planning from London taxi drivers

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Hugo Spiers, Pablo Fernández Velasco, and Eva-Marie Griesbauer share what they learned about human route planning from talking with London taxi drivers.

In this episode, we cover:
•[00:00] Introduction
•[00:59] Cognitive neuroscientist Hugo Spiers reviews previous studies on human route planning.
•[01:29] Cognitive scientist and philosopher Pablo Fernández Velasco talks about why they chose to study London taxi drivers.
•[01:49] Spiers describes the test that qualifies London taxi drivers.
•[02:39] Spiers explains the experimental procedure.
•[04:01] A recording of a taxi driver describing a route.
•[04:57] Fernández talks about the data analysis.
•[05:22] Psychologist Eva-Maria Griesbauer talks about the experience of interviewing taxi drivers.
•[05:56] Fernández, Spiers, and Griesbauer recount the results of the study.
•[08:43] Fernández and Spiers talk about the implications for the study of human route planning.
•[10:22] Fernández describes the caveats and limitations of the study.
•[11:15] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Hugo Spiers
Professor
University College London

Pablo Fernández Velasco
Postdoctoral researcher
University of York

Eva-Maria Griesbauer
Postdoctoral researcher
University College London

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2407814122

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