Scott Barry Kaufman

Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of intelligence, creativity, and human potential. He's the author of Transcend, Ungifted, Wired to Create, and Rise Above, and host of The Psychology Podcast—one of the most popular psychology podcasts in the world, with over 30 million downloads. He's the founder and director of the Center for Human Potential and has taught at Columbia, NYU, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Scott's story is personal. As a child, he was diagnosed with a learning disability and placed in special education. He was told—explicitly and implicitly—that his potential was limited. Instead of accepting that verdict, he became obsessed with understanding what intelligence actually is, who gets to define it, and what happens when you refuse to let someone else's label become your ceiling. He went on to earn an M.Phil from Cambridge and a PhD from Yale.

At NeuroDiversion, Scott brought decades of research and lived experience to a talk about the science behind doing what others say can't be done—and why the neurodivergent mind is uniquely positioned to rewrite the rules of what's possible.