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Daniel Levitin
American psychologist (born 1957) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Joseph Levitin, FRSC (born December 27, 1957) is an American-Canadian polymath,[1] cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer.[2] He is the author of four New York Times best-selling books, including This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, (Dutton/Penguin 2006; Plume/Penguin 2007) which has sold more than 1 million copies.[3]
Daniel J. Levitin | |
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![]() Levitin in 2015 | |
Born | (1957-12-27) December 27, 1957 (age 66) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American, Canadian |
Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Berklee College of Music Stanford University (B.A., 1992) University of Oregon (MSc, 1993; PhD, 1996). |
Known for | Levitin effect, This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, Successful Aging (published as The Changing Mind in the U.K.) |
Awards | See "Awards" section |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Music cognition, cognitive neuroscience of music, cognitive psychology |
Institutions | |
Academic advisors | Roger Shepard, Michael Posner, Douglas Hintzman, John R. Pierce, Stephen Palmer |
Notable students | Regina Nuzzo, Susan Rogers |
Website | daniellevitin |
Levitin is a James McGill Professor Emeritus of psychology, behavioral neuroscience and music at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; a Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at Minerva University; and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley. He is the Director of the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill.[4] He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Grammys, a consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, a fellow of the Psychonomic Society, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC). He has appeared frequently as a guest commentator on NPR and CBC. He has published scientific articles on absolute pitch, music cognition, neuroanatomy, and directional statistics.[5][6]
His five books have all been international bestsellers, and collectively have sold more 3 million copies worldwide: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (2006),[7][8][9] The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (2008), The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload (2014), A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age (2016) and Successful Aging (2020). I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music As Medicine is scheduled for publication in August 2024 by W. W. Norton.
Levitin also worked as a music consultant, producer and sound designer on albums by Blue Öyster Cult, Chris Isaak, and Joe Satriani among others;[10] produced punk bands including MDC and The Afflicted; and served as a consultant on albums by artists including Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Brook;[11][12] and as a recording engineer for Santana, Jonathan Richman, O.J. Ekemode and the Nigerian Allstars, and The Grateful Dead.[13] Records and CDs to which he has contributed have sold more than 30 million copies.[12][14]