Let’s face it. A great deal of science writing is impenetrable to the non professional. Not only is modern science so deep, broad and complex, it is full of its own jargon. Richard Dawkins has put together an anthology of some of the finest science writing of recent times. It proves that science can be […]
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing Read More »
What do atoms have to do with your life? Millions of human beings have obviously lived their lives in the past without the faintest suspicion of the existence of atoms. In Your Atomic Self, scientist Curt Stager (http://www.curtstager.com/About__Biography_.html) reveals how they connect you to some of the most amazing things in the universe. Stager will show how your oxygen atoms move through
Nothing is more natural than to believe we have conscious control over our own choices. Indeed most of social behaviour including the criminal justice system is predicated on that conviction. What, though, if that presumption is simply not true? Professor Dick Swabb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Swaab) argues that everything we think, do, and refrain from doing is determined by our
We Are Our Brains by Dick Swaab Read More »
In 1980 I read ‘The Problem of Pain‘ (1940) by C.S. Lewis. It is essentially a defence of Christian doctrine – and the assertion of a loving God – in the face of ubiquitous suffering. It left many unresolved questions in my mind about the nature and existence of pain. Why, for example does pain have
The Story of Pain by Joanna Bourke Read More »
Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth’s climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being ‘silent witnesses to the passage of time’, plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout the past as much as the environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, Professor David Beerling of Sheffield University (https://www.shef.ac.uk/aps/staff-and-students/acadstaff/beerling) puts plants centre stage,
The Emerald Planet Read More »
The Fisher Professor of Natural History and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University takes us on a tour of the first 3 billion years of evolutionary history. Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites -such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of life, ancient animals, even the
Life on a Young Planet Read More »
Without our Sun in (the relatively) close proximity of 93 million miles it would be a cold and dark world indeed. It is the source of all our light and heat. The object is a massive ball of gas and plasma. Thanks to the nuclear fusion reactions taking place at its core, the Sun has been shining
Have you ever wondered how the 3.3 pounds of gelatinous material inside your skull generates the amazing magic lantern show that humans call ‘consciousness’? This, in philosophy, is known as the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness). Experimental science, undaunted, is having a go at finding out the answer. You may be surprised to learn just how long
Headhunters by Ben Shephard Read More »
This is a treat for anyone who is already convinced by the ideas of evolutionary biology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_biology) or wishes an introduction to them. Here is a question…Will people born in the 1990s in the developed world live as long as those born 60 years ago? The upward trend in life expectancy of the last century
Mismatch by Peter Gluckman Read More »
