In the 1970s, I had the pleasure of meeting the great neuroscientist Sir John Eccles when he came to give the Gifford lectures in Edinburgh. The Dean of our faculty graciously invited us to meet the Nobel laureate at a garden party. The book, The Self and Its Brain, which he had coauthored with Karl… Continue reading Sir John Eccles
Category: Society
Analysis and discussion of social issues
Shapeshifters symposium
It was a great pleasure to give a talk and participate in the Shapeshifters Symposium, Plasticity Here, There, and Everywhere, in Amsterdam at the end of May. The Shapeshifters Symposium was a transdisciplinary two-day event that explored the concept of plasticity across academic domains and beyond. My talk at the Shapeshifters symposium emphasised how organisms… Continue reading Shapeshifters symposium
The Awakening Earth
Raymond and Denis Noble discuss their book, Understanding Living Systems, published by Cambridge University Press in July 2023. The book ends with a call to arms as humans awake to their responsibility for our precious ecosystems, Earth’s awakening. Here, Denis reads from the final paragraphs.
Understanding Living Systems
Cambridge University Press published our book, Understanding Living Systems, in July. We were pleased to be guests on Perry Marshall’s podcast to discuss the book. This episode encapsulates our extraordinary enthusiasm and creativity when writing our book Understanding Living Systems. Why did we write it? What is it about? Why is it necessary? Thank you,… Continue reading Understanding Living Systems
Greening our food
For tackling climate change, we need major lifestyle changes. That means changing how we source and produce our food. The food we produce and buy is responsible for 60% of global nature loss. But, we personally can make efforts to source better food. Greening our food is healthy for us and the planet. Globally the… Continue reading Greening our food
Nature’s give and take
Never a lender or borrower be, says Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Nature ignores his advice. There is much lending and borrowing in nature’s ways. But perhaps it is more ‘give and take.’ After all, when we lend something, we expect it back. We borrow a lot from nature. Yet, we often forget to give it… Continue reading Nature’s give and take