The nervous system is a surprisingly noisy place. For example, if one presents the exact same stimulus to an animal many times, and records the activities of their sensory neurons, the responses of those neurons show Poisson-like levels of trial-to-trial variability, with the variances being comparable to the means. Similar levels of variability are observed elsewhere in the nervous system. At the same time, we have the experience of having robust thoughts and perceptions. So how do our brains generate this robustness from systems of inherently unreliable components? In my talk, I will discuss my work on the retina, the visual cortex, and the hippocampus, each of which reveals a different strategy that the nervous system appears to use in solving this problem. Along the way, I'll highlight the implications of these results for other neuronal systems, and for the creation of biomimetic technologies. Importantly, I will assume no specialized knowledge on the part of the listener.