Erik Hoel

Erik Hoel is an American neuroscientist, neurophilosopher, and fiction writer. His main areas of research are the study and philosophy of consciousness, cognition, biological function of dreams, and mathematical theories of emergence. He is noted for using information theory and causal analysis to develop mathematical models to explore and understand the basis of consciousness and dreams. Hoel holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and in 2018 was recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30 – Science award.

Career Research Hoel was previously a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Rafael Yuste at Columbia University and a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is known for the idea of "causal emergence", a formal theory about how macroscales of systems can have stronger causal relationships than their underlying microscale. He has also developed the overfitted brain hypothesis, on how dreams evolved as a way to prevent overfitting during learning.

Hoel has published essays in The Atlantic and The Baffler, among others.

The Revelations

In 2021, Hoel published The Revelations, a mystery novel set at New York University concerning a fictional scholarship program that brings together eight young consciousness researchers, one of whom is murdered. Publishers Weekly called it "a dizzying, impressive debut".

Personal life Hoel is married to Julia Buntaine Hoel, a fellow neuroscientist, artist, and founder of the SciArt Initiative. They have a son, born in 2021.