Natural History of the Present
Rob Brooks – Evolutionary Biologist & Author
“Pro-lifers” consider the termination of a pregnancy the moral equivalent of taking a newborn life. Their strategies seek to blur distinctions between aborting a fetus and killing a newborn. I argue that an understanding of that relationship—drawing on evidence from centuries of history and millennia of evolution—leads to the conclusion that abortion is the most humane alternative to infanticide, adding to the case for safe, legal, accessible abortion for women who need it.
The association between diamond rings, matrimony, hetero sex, and the intention to spend one’s life with another provides a fascinating tale of economics, marketing, biology, and culture. And it teaches us about that which glitters more than gold and scintillates more than gems.
Sex robots, according to breathless media reports, are coming. Or, if not, then they are certainly on their way. Robotic androids and gynoids, animated by the 21st Century sorcery of artificial intelligence, stand ready to slide between the sheets and make themselves…
In addition to my research and teaching as an evolutionary biologist, about 20% of my job involves another role: Academic Lead of the UNSW Grand Challenges and Thought Leadership Program. One of the many exciting things we do involves discovering…
Australia is gearing up for what looks to be a mighty battle over freedom of speech. Recent commentary about what a sports star can and cannot post on social media platforms has reignited the controversy. Many people and organisations are…
I find myself thinking a lot about sex robots these days. In this, I am far from alone. Over the last few years, the dolls and toys that people keep in the very darkest recesses of their closets have found…
Move over Nate Silver! The statistician and author of The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – But Some Don’t may have called 49 out of 50 states right in the 2012 US Presidential election. But today…
Many scholars of Renaissance art tell us that Botticelli’s Birth of Venus captures the tension between the celestial perfection of divine beauty and its flawed earthly manifestation. As classical ideas blossomed anew in 15th-century Florence, Botticelli could not have missed…
About a month ago, I stumbled across a paper that left me with the warm reinforcing glow that comes with being right. The rather artificial experiment played female subjects two pieces of music varying in complexity, and then asked each…
Workers of the world can have their International Labour Day, or Workers Day or whatever. But the month of May belongs to an equally fundamental dignity: masturbation. The fact that a whole month is devoted to self-pleasure raises two important…