Untangling Our World

  This week, I attended the Anthropology, AI and the future of Human Society Virtual Conference organized by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) and co-organized by The British Science Fiction Association (BFSA) and the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA). The conference program set out to explore the implications and impact of the increasing role of AI, including but not limited to space exploration, autonomous driving, biotech, healthcare, and much more on the future of human society from a broad range of anthropological perspectives. The opening keynote: Anthropology and Emerging Technologies: Learning to Play in the Future Space , was delivered by Professor Sarah Pink, Director of Emerging Technology Research Lab at Monash University in Australia. Prof. Pink focused on exploring the role of anthropological research and perspective in AI, and automated decision-making as connected smart systems and technology (for example, Alexa and Siri) are increasin...

"Anthropology demands the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder that which one would not have been able to guess." - Margaret Mead Having spent two years in pandemic lockdown, in some ways returning to school can be a welcome relief. And when returning to school also means starting high school - it’s a whole different experience.  I have been interested in biology and specifically learning more about the human body to promote health and prevent illnesses. In talking with an acquaintance about some of my current interests, I was recently introduced to Anthropology. This is the first time, I had heard of it - t here was no mention of this field of study in my high school curriculum, so I started to explore it on my own. In this post, I am going to share my initial thoughts and some resources that have been quite helpful in getting to know more about Anthropology as a field. Simply put, Anthropology can be described as the science...

“….it is well-accepted that Neanderthals appear to be the most cold-adapted of known fossil hominin groups; however, there are still many unknowns. There is a great deal yet to be uncovered about the nature and manifestation of Neanderthal adaptation and how the synergy of biology and culture helped buffer them against extreme and variable environments.” - Evolutionary Anthropology 2021 Starting in 1970, April 22nd is designated as “Earth Day” and is meant to be a day we celebrate and engage in activities related to earth and its inhabitants. Anthropologists are interested in studying all things related to human activity, its impact, interaction and the ramification of global climate change on human life.  Recently a study from a team of researchers at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology asked a related question - Was one of our close hominid relatives, namely Neanderthals really as adapted to life in the cold as has been previously assumed, or did they prefer more t...

“We have so far to go to realize our human potential for compassion, altruism, and love.” ― Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating Altruism is largely considered a belief in and practice of selfless concern towards the happiness of others. It appears to be present in many primates, including humans. Research suggests that altruistic behavior and more general tendencies for helping others are evolutionarily highly selected for within humans. It appears that a strong propensity for kindness and generosity is a very human quality and that it works to improve the health and happiness of the giver and the receiver alike. In general, the closer you feel to others around you, it would be easier to form groups and alliances and work together to accumulate resources and defend against any threats.  Like other helpful behaviors, engaging in altruistic behaviors is a practice that requires effort and time. Here I want to share some easy altruistic practices that can help ov...

  "Pleasure was central to the biggest changes in our evolutionary past," "Cuisine is a major evolutionary innovation. However, it is rare in nature." "This search for great flavors is embedded in our species' very name: homo (human) sapiens (knowing). But "sapiens" originates in a verb meaning "to taste" and later "to have discernment." "The human who discerns through taste," confident in their belief that "we sit together and make sense of the world one bite at a time." Source: Dunn and Sanchez Review: In a recent book, Delicious: The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human, Rob Dunn, and Monica Sanchez explore the origins of food preferences in humans and how they evolved over time and ultimately changed us. The book proposes that flavor and desire for pleasure in food significantly influenced the behavior of pre-humans and early humans. For example, the quest of flavor involving processing of food m...

an epic adventure a story of myth and legend free will and fate set in the future ecological footprints  blown away by the flow of time in the silence of the desert Dune - mirrors the story of life - dazzling and frustrating - read then decide! Summary:  Dune is a fantastic book that has inspired almost every Spacefaring adventure story since its conception. It starts off in the newly settled fortress of Duke Leo Atredeis, father of Paul Atreides, who is the main character. The book then introduces the mother of Paul, Jessica. After a while, the antagonist, Baron Harkonnen, is shown, plotting the downfall of the Atreides family. After his plan is executed perfectly, the Baron takes over the planet Arrakis, becoming the de facto controller of the spice trade. Paul, escaping into the desert with his mother, becomes a member of a freeman tribe. Freemen are the desert dwellers who ride the dune worms and harvest spice.  Later, he becomes the leader of all the freeman tribes a...

Summary: The book, When the Air Hits Your Brain by Frank T. Vertosick Jr. is a medical memoir from Dr. Vertosick's career as a neurosurgeon. He writes with compassion and humor, and the result is a collection of short stories that are engaging and fascinating. The reader is engaged from the beginning by his personal journey from a young and ambitious grad student to becoming a fully qualified neurosurgeon. He describes several instrumental cases with an attention to detail that makes the stories really stick with you, but they can also be rather disturbing as he goes on to describe at times rather graphic details - If made into a TV series, these would likely be rated "R" for graphic violence. Still, the stores are relatable at an emotional level, and the book goes far beyond the surgical details as he describes the human toll of diseases and the responsibilities of being a doctor. As the author writes, "You're never the same after the air hits your brain," ...