Science, Scientists, Ideas

"OTHER MINDS" GODFRY-SMITH PETER Peter Godfrey-Smith (b. 1965) — an Australian marine biologist and philosopher of science, professor at the University of Sydney. His bestseller "Other Minds" has revolutionized our understanding of cephalopods: according to the author, these animals represent "an alternative experiment of evolution in creating a highly developed intelligence." The author, an experienced diver who continuously observes octopuses and cuttlefish in their natural habitat, is convinced that these infinitely distant organisms demonstrate outstanding cognitive abilities and an astonishing level of mental complexity. "MORAL ANIMAL" WRIGHT ROBERT Humans are animals endowed with reason — this fact is hard to argue with. At the same time, it is commonly believed that in civilized society, the rational element prevails over the animalistic. But is this really the case? What does human morality, which has undergone radical changes over the centuries, really represent? How are altruism and the struggle for survival, the sexual revolution and Darwin's theory of evolution connected? Honor, conscience, friendship, nobility — are all these merely words that conceal bare instinct? By analyzing these questions and cleverly using the biography of Charles Darwin and his "On the Origin of Species" as an example, as well as Frans de Waal's famous work "Politics in Chimpanzees," Robert Wright arrives at some very intriguing conclusions... "GENETICS OF GENIUS" EPHROIMSON VLADIMIR PAVLOVICH High intellectual activity, especially in its most vivid manifestation — genius, has attracted human attention for millennia. Countless works and biographical studies have been dedicated to genius and geniuses, but almost all of them consider genius to be something irrational, unexplainable and unanalysable. After studying and summarizing a vast amount of biographical data and research in the fields of history, psychology, and medicine, Vladimir Ephroimson attempted to identify the mechanisms stimulating intellect, the sources of outstanding talent, and the conditions under which it manifests and reveals itself in all its fullness. Based on his analysis, he concluded that there exist enormous reserve possibilities of the brain of an ordinary, non-genius individual and outlined the paths that, in his opinion, could streamline the "production" of geniuses and allow humanity to reach a qualitatively new level of intellectual and spiritual development.