Jill Bolte Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jill Bolte Taylor
|
|
|---|---|
Bolte Taylor at TED, 2008
|
|
| Born | May 4, 1959 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
|
| Alma mater | Indiana University Bloomington (B.A.), Indiana State University (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | My Stroke of Insight |
Jill Bolte Taylor (born May 4, 1959) is an American brain scientist, author, and public speaker. She is famous for her book My Stroke of Insight. This book shares her personal journey of having a stroke and recovering from it. She also gave a very popular speech at a TED Conference.
Dr. Taylor started studying serious mental illnesses because her brother had one. In the early 1990s, she worked as a researcher at Harvard Medical School. There, she studied how brain cells communicate with each other.
On December 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor had a major stroke. Her own experience with the stroke and her eight-year recovery changed her work. It became the main topic of her 2006 book, My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. Her TED talk about this experience became incredibly popular online. After that, her book became a bestseller.
In May 2008, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Her book also won a "Books for a Better Life" award in 2009.
Dr. Taylor started a nonprofit group called Jill Bolte Taylor Brains, Inc. She also teaches anatomy, cell biology, and physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is also the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center.
Contents
Understanding a Stroke
On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor woke up and realized she was having a stroke. A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is stopped or reduced. This prevents brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells can start to die in minutes.
Her stroke was caused by bleeding from a problem in her brain. This problem was a tangle of blood vessels called an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Three weeks later, she had brain surgery. Doctors removed a large blood clot that was pressing on the parts of her brain that control language.
My Stroke of Insight
Dr. Taylor's speech at the February 2008 TED Conference got a lot of attention. She talked about her memories of the stroke. This speech became one of the most watched TED talks ever.
After her stroke, Dr. Taylor wrote My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. The book is about her recovery from the stroke. It also shares what she learned about how her brain works during that time. The book was published in May 2008. It stayed on the New York Times Bestseller List for 63 weeks. It even reached number 4.
Dr. Taylor appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 21, 2008. Later, at a graduation speech, Oprah Winfrey quoted Dr. Taylor. She said, "You are responsible for the energy that you bring." Oprah encouraged the students to live by this idea. Dr. Taylor was also the first guest on Oprah's podcast, Soul Series.
A Ballet About the Brain
The Cedar Lake Ballet Company created a ballet called "Orbo Novo." This ballet was inspired by My Stroke of Insight. The title "Orbo Novo" means "new world." The ballet explores new ideas about the brain.
The dancers in the ballet even speak words from Dr. Taylor's book. The dance shows the difference between the left and right sides of the brain. The left brain is often seen as logical and controlled. The right brain is more about feelings and creativity. The ballet explores these two sides. It shows the balance and imbalance between them.
Music Inspired by the Brain
On May 3, 2019, for Dr. Taylor's 60th birthday, the Cecilia Chorus of New York performed a new musical piece. It was called Fifty Trillion Molecular Geniuses. This performance took place at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The music used words from My Stroke of Insight. It combined them with music by famous composers Johannes Brahms and Edward Elgar.
