The Story of Our Lives: Homo sapiens' Secrets of Success - Hardcover

Liat Ben David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 981124734X ISBN 13: 9789811247347

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd, 2022

Synopsis

We are a restless, world-changing species. We are the only organism that combines a multitude of abilities to harness the rules of nature, continuously manipulating our environment, its resources and even our own bodies to fit our ever-changing needs and desires. What is it that enables us to share some 99 percent of DNA as well as some basic behaviors with other organisms, yet at the same time be so different and powerful?

Coalescing understandings driven from biology, psychology, anthropology, history and more, Ben David addresses the above question using a new paradigm: The Gordian knot between five human traits - imagination, creative making, complex communication, change and intergenerational transfer - evolutionary developed and co-amplified as the ultra-complex system called Homo sapiens. Weaving personal stories with professional experience, Ben David narrates innovative definitions of technology, education, science and their co-dependence; emphasizes their roles in the development of human societies; deliberates their implications on everyday life; discusses the crucial role of science education; and offers a fresh look at who we are as the leading species on this planet.

Dr Liat Ben David is the CEO of the Davidson Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of Israel's acclaimed Weizmann Institute of Science. She holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and has more than 30 years of experience in the field of STEM education. Ben David teaches regularly in various spheres, including academia and TEDx; she is an accomplished author who has published numerous articles and books.

About this title

About the Author

Dr Liat Ben David is the CEO of the Davidson Institute of Science Education ― the educational arm of Israel's internationally acclaimed Weizmann Institute of Science. Since completing her PhD in Molecular Biology at the Weizmann Institute of science in 1991, she has become one of Israel's leading professionals in the field of STEM education, with more than 30 years of experience. Throughout her career, Ben David has established several education centers in Israel and the USA, led curriculum development and implementation, as well as science education leadership development, and developed innovative pedagogical models of science education. She previously served as CEO of Israel's Wolf Prize Foundation, awarding the internationally acclaimed Wolf Prize to scientists and artists from all over the world, based on merit and considered as second only to the Nobel Prize. With a clear vision and philosophy of the Gordian knots between science, technology and society as the engine of humanity, Ben David teaches and appears regularly in various spheres, including academia, media and other settings, including two TEDx-talks. She is an accomplished author who has published numerous articles and books in Hebrew and English, non-fiction and fiction alike. Ben David lives in Israel with her spouse, their three children and five grandchildren.

Edition details

• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 981124734X
• ISBN 13: 9789811247347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 244