an itinerant observer

If you are lucky you may come across a book that challenges your assumptions, upends your convictions and knocks down your indoctrination. If you are really lucky then said book may present an alternative and limitless world view of possibilities that generates a warm fuzzy feeling within, perhaps because your assumptions have been challenged, convictions upended and indoctrination knocked down. I can safely say this has happened to me recently. After several years of sporadic reading of contemporary fiction, creative non-fiction and general non-fiction, I present to you….drum roll….Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari! This remarkable book belonging to the genre of ‘popular science’ per it’s cover is certainly that but goes far beyond. It is a highly evocative, provocative and candid outlook on Homo sapiens (modern human beings, in other words) – where they’ve come from, but more importantly where they are headed (hence, Homo Deus alluding to humanity version 2.0). All that, ...

“When the brain’s potential is fully unleashed, there can be few if any limitations. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t up-to-date with the latest scientific findings on the brain…for the brain’s potential is the human potential." – Author James Morcan Inspired by the possibilities for progress in neuroscience; young doctors, students and teachers unveiled a range of original thoughts and proposals at the Ignite event, part of the National Health Sciences Research Symposium, Mind and Brain conference. The human brain controls all the body’s thoughts, feelings and actions. It determines what it means to be human and is the source of all our creative and innovative impulses. The central importance of the brain to the body means that the field of neuroscience – the study of the mind, brain and nervous system – holds enormous potential to improve the world around us. With just five minutes each to stir the audience, the seven presenters explored a range of questions inclu...