Fire, Cells, and Circuits: Fire, Culture, and the Human Experience

This event continues our Fire, Cells, and Circuits series by focusing on the role of fire in shaping human culture and experience.

Fire marks a major transition point in the story we’ve been telling, bridging biological constraints and cultural possibility. Once fire enters the picture, metabolism, environment, and social life become tightly coupled in new ways. Cooking alters energy budgets, shared hearths reshape social organization, and light and heat extend human activity beyond the rhythms of daylight and climate.

In this session, we will explore how fire functions not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for cultural change. We will look at how control of fire may have influenced cognition, communication, cooperation, and the emergence of shared practices and meanings, helping to scaffold the specifically human forms of agency and experience we recognize today.

As with other events in the series, this will be a mix of structured framing and open discussion. The aim is to connect biological foundations with lived human experience, without assuming sharp boundaries between nature and culture.

New participants are welcome. No background is required beyond curiosity and a willingness to listen and ask questions. Those familiar with the series or related topics can expect to deepen their understanding and help weave together themes from earlier events.