Monthly Archives: June 2015

Thinking sideways

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Quentin

Edward de Bono – the champion of lateral thinking. Every so often, when I am giving my brain a quick routine service, I ask myself how my skills of lateral thinking are working. I am cheating today by writing about … Continue reading →

Posted in Quentin queries | Tagged , | 79 Comments

Man, proud man

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Quentin

Three million years before the first homo sapiens appeared our ancestors were making stone tools with multiple uses. These were not just opportunistic broken flints but tools which had been knapped for the purpose. A recent find pushes back the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns, evolution, Neuroscience, Philosophy | 41 Comments

Laudatio Si

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Quentin

This post has been provided for our discussion on the new Encyclical on climate and related matters. Prior publicity suggests a number of questions which, amongst others, we might like to consider: Is it the Pope’s job to write authoritatively … Continue reading →

Posted in Quentin queries | Tagged , | 124 Comments

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Quentin

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor – we all chose our occupations in life. But why did you choose the occupation you did? Was it a chance opportunity, or a deliberate choice? Was it in some way connected to a family tradition? … Continue reading →

Posted in Moral judgment, Quentin queries | Tagged , | 58 Comments

How the chicken got its beak

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Quentin

A week or two ago Nature published a report about how chickens developed a beak from the flat snout of their dinosaur ancestors. All that was required was a change in position of two proteins. Evolution. We have recently been … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, Quentin queries | Tagged , | 88 Comments