In 1982 the neurologist Andrew Lees had a dream in which he was sitting on the seabed with a telescope observing a molecular structure above him. As two hydroxyl groups unfurled from a central benzene ring, he recognised the molecule as apomorphine, which William Burroughs had championed in the preface to Naked Lunch as the […]
‘It is a characteristic of aging brain scientists to turn their minds to the problem of consciousness … While their ambition is admirable, the result is usually lamentable.’ Thus wrote the reliable if usually churlish psychologist Stuart Sutherland back in 1990. Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist and brilliantly indefatigable ambassador for science, has written a book […]
I used to be a sceptic about the ‘technological singularity’, the idea that we are on the verge of creating machines so unimaginably intelligent that human history will enter a wholly new and unfathomable phase. My scepticism stemmed largely from the quasi-religious awe that surrounds the idea. Like the mysterious black monolith in the film 2001: […]
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Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm