What we’re about
This is a group for anyone with a thirst for knowledge. We'll be reading non-fiction books from a vast range of topics: history, biography, philosophy, economics, science and anything else we can come up with. All books will be aimed at the non-specialist, the aim is to learn, not to confuse! Locations for meetings will be pubs or cafes the inner west. People of all ages and interests are welcome.
Upcoming events
2
•OnlineHow Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
OnlineA new theory of how the brain constructs emotions that could revolutionize psychology, health care, law enforcement, and our understanding of the human mind.
Emotions feel automatic, like uncontrollable reactions to things we think and experience. Scientists have long supported this assumption by claiming that emotions are hardwired in the body or the brain. Today, however, the science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology—ans this paradigm shift has far-reaching implications for us all.
Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose theory of emotion is driving a deeper understanding of the mind and brain, and shedding new light on what it means to be human. Her research overturns the widely held belief that emotions are housed in different parts of the brain and are universally expressed and recognized. Instead, she has shown that emotion is constructed in the moment, by core systems that interact across the whole brain, aided by a lifetime of learning. This new theory means that you play a much greater role in your emotional life than you ever thought. Its repercussions are already shaking the foundations not only of psychology but also of medicine, the legal system, child-rearing, meditation, and even airport security.
Why do emotions feel automatic? Does rational thought really control emotion? How does emotion affect disease? How can you make your children more emotionally intelligent? How Emotions Are Made answers these questions and many more, revealing the latest research and intriguing practical applications of the new science of emotion, mind, and brain.
Goodreads
ABC All in the mind: The creation of emotions14 attendees
•OnlineDefiance: Stories from Nature and Its Defenders by Bob Brown
OnlineStories of courage and conviction from the environmental frontline.
For half a century, Bob Brown has been standing up to the powerful interests who would put profit before planet.
In Defiance, he draws on this experience to inspire a new generation of individual and collective action. He reflects on the people and places that have shaped him, celebrates the irreplaceable beauty and value of nature and shares what motivates him to keep fighting. He considers the challenges facing nature's defenders – hostile corporate lobbyists, vilification in the press, the powerful pull of consumerism – and shows how courage, persistence and community can defeat them all.
Told with Brown's trademark warmth and humour, these stories will galvanise, uplift and inspire.
With a foreword by Geraldine Brooks.
'Our unifying purpose ought to be safeguarding life on earth, honouring happiness and securing humanity for its future in the universe. This simple and obvious pursuit, far ahead of money, offers us meaning to life on our brilliant little planet.' —Bob Brown
Goodreads3 attendees
Past events
134
