Whether through oral traditions and primitive technologies, or through technological advances, we constantly push our limits for gathering and transmitting knowledge.
SEAN BROCK
Chef Sean Brock has been featured on PBS, the Cooking Channel, in Food and Wine Magazine and The New Yorker. He has two Charleston, South Carolina restaurants and two James Beard Awards to his credit, but he’s not satisfied. His ambition is to preserve and revitalize culinary knowledge from the golden age of Southern Cuisine, through the seed saving of heirloom crops, raising his own heritage breed pigs, and pushing the limits of molecular gastronomy in his recipes.
Science in Everyday Life
FEATURED BOOK: THE LAND OF THE PAINTED CAVES
As author of the best-seller Earth’s Children series, Jean Auel’s long-time passion has been the possibility that Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon peoples intersected during the early Neolithic era. Her works are based her own research as well as more than thirty years of consultation with experts around the world and visits to numerous archeological sites.
In her speculative history books, genetic memory and experiential knowledge are weighed for their pros and cons in affecting culture, relationships, and eventually even the continued existence of species. Interestingly, it was after the publication of The Land of the Painted Caves that scientists confirmed the existence of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans–increasing our own knowledge of our past ancestors.
Author Interview
RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Consider these titles for your Knowledge theme book selection. Descriptions of each book and suggested discussion questions can be found in the download file at the bottom of the page.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. (Fiction)
In what has become an international multi-media phenomena, this story follows the misadventures of the last surviving man following the demolition of the Earth by a constructor fleet, to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown. (Fiction)
A deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths… all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C.
Seven Elements That Changed the World, by John Browne. (Non-fiction)
Combining history, science, and politics… readers will come to understand how seven minerals are changing the world around us.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. (Fiction)
Shadow encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Their strange journey takes long, hard look into the soul of America.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, by Mark Kurlansky. (Non-fiction)
A single species of fish has sustained major cultures and allowed for mankind's exploration of new worlds. Through a lovely, thoughtful history, Mark Kurlansky ponders the question: Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world's folly?
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann. (Non-fiction)
A radical re-writing of the history of the peoples in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. The pre-Columbian Indians manipulated their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand.
Wired, by Douglas E. Richards. (Fiction)
A genetic engineering thriller - with breakneck action, unexpected twists, mind-expanding science, and intriguing concepts.
Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. (Fiction)
A satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.
In what has become an international multi-media phenomena, this story follows the misadventures of the last surviving man following the demolition of the Earth by a constructor fleet, to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown. (Fiction)
A deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths… all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C.
Seven Elements That Changed the World, by John Browne. (Non-fiction)
Combining history, science, and politics… readers will come to understand how seven minerals are changing the world around us.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. (Fiction)
Shadow encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Their strange journey takes long, hard look into the soul of America.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, by Mark Kurlansky. (Non-fiction)
A single species of fish has sustained major cultures and allowed for mankind's exploration of new worlds. Through a lovely, thoughtful history, Mark Kurlansky ponders the question: Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world's folly?
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann. (Non-fiction)
A radical re-writing of the history of the peoples in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. The pre-Columbian Indians manipulated their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand.
Wired, by Douglas E. Richards. (Fiction)
A genetic engineering thriller - with breakneck action, unexpected twists, mind-expanding science, and intriguing concepts.
Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. (Fiction)
A satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.