Social Brain

Who owns information: The defining battle of our time?

Blog

22 Jan 2013

Jonathan Rowson

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. - George Bernard Shaw

Lessons from Sheffield

Blog

17 Jan 2013

Nathalie Spencer

Today I’m writing from Sheffield, where I’m attending the North of England Education Conference (NEEC 2013).  This year's theme is 'Mind, Brain, Community: Inspiring Learners, Strengthening Resilience'.  Day one was crammed with fascinating talks. It will take me some time to digest it all before writing about it more fully at a later date, but here is a sample of some of the points that stood out from the day:

Could politician’s ‘divided brains’ be behind their failure to tackle long term challenges?

Press release

12 Jan 2013

Given that the world faces so many major and intractable problems, why do politicians insist on trying to address them in a piecemeal fashion, rather than addressing underlying root causes?

Why do we waste so much food?

Blog

11 Jan 2013

Jonathan Rowson

While minding my own business yesterday I received an unexpected call asking me to appear on The Today Programme to discuss the psychological underpinnings of why we waste so much food. They chose me with my Social Brain hat on, because they wanted to explore wider issues relating to people acting against their own self-interest and the nature of irrationality.

You are what you pay attention to

Blog

10 Jan 2013

Nathalie Spencer

We talk a lot about attention at the RSA.  It is one of Social Brain Centre’s core thematic strands, and Jonathan blogged about the potential for it to be fractured by our technological addictions earlier this week.  So I was very interested to see that the article The Essence of Optimism in the Jan/Feb issue of Scientific American Mind was largely on attention, too.

When is the right time to eat stale doughnuts?

Blog

04 Jan 2013

Nathalie Spencer

On a recent trip to the States to visit family for the holidays, I had the opportunity to watch a whole host of mediocre films on the transatlantic flights.  One of these was The Five Year Engagement with Emily Blunt and Jason Segel, a mix of romance and comedy with a surprising dose of psychology, too.

Aren't you being a little, y'know, Dystopian?

Blog

03 Jan 2013

Jonathan Rowson

The Argentinian genius, Jorge Luis Borges once described Utopia as "a Greek word meaning 'there is no such place'"

New Year, so where's the new stationery?

Blog

02 Jan 2013

For many of us, today is the first day back at work after the Christmas break. It’s the time for fresh starts, clean pages, and resolutions. The clichés tell us that the New Year is an opportunity to put some distance between ourselves and last year’s bad habits, ill-advised decisions and unhealthy obsessions.

What makes work meaningful?

Blog

01 Nov 2012

Jonathan Rowson

This morning I was looking forward to taking part in a workshop hosted by the Spiritual Capital Foundation led by RSA Fellow Naftali Brawer. Alas, some unexpected and depleting events at home made it difficult for me to attend, and rather than arrive late, flustered, and distracted, I felt the wisest course was to offer my thoughts remotely. So with apologies to Naftali, and the other participants whom I hope to meet later, here is what I would like to have shared.