Guest: Dr. E. O. (Neal) Smith, author of "When Culture and Biology Collide: Why We Are Stressed, Depressed, and Self-Obsessed," was the guest for this Space Show program. Dr. Smith's website is www.eosmith.com and you can find out more about his book there as well as learned about his other work. In fact, all his past journal articles are available for download. While you might think this program and his book are not space related, as you will hear during the program, it's very easy to connect the dots from what Dr. Smith writes and talks about to space. More to the point, what he has to say in his book and this Space Show program about our biology and culture, and their intersection, is important. Also, when we do talk about space, listen carefully to what Dr. Smith says about NASA, the budget, science and exploration, and the manned program. Please remember that, while many of you will disagree with some of what he says, he is not your enemy. As I say on the show, we in the space community need to be able to address concerns raised by Dr. Smith. One listener, a former student of Neal's from Emory University, inquired if Neal would be supportive of Queen Isabella funding and supporting the Columbus effort to find new trade routes to India. In fact, this listener asked if Dr. Smith would advise Columbus to not make the trip given what was being said about space. Neal provided an outstanding response because, in just a few crystal clear words, he expressed the value of the Columbus effort. Don't miss this discussion, it's outstanding in my opinion and we would like your feedback. We covered other aspects of space, such as the need for the social sciences in the space development community. Again, please listen and let us know your thoughts. We talked about STEM education and regular education, leaning on Neal to tell us how students have changed over his years of being a professor at Emory and how the university and educational programs themselves have changed. We talked about leadership, political and otherwise, not specifically for space, but across the board. We talked about the conflicts with our biology and culture and we explored what culture is, how culture is defined, technology and culture, and much more. There were many listener questions about his book and even in applying his book to space, an area not of great interest for Dr. Smith. This is an important program, an educational and most informative discussion with an extremely bright and articulate professor, writer, and thinker. Don't miss it. For sure, Neal Smith will be returning to The Space Show. If you have a question or comment for Neal or want to know more about his book or his works, check out his website and http://www.eosmith.com/contact.html. The email address he lists on his site is eosmith@eosmith.com or you can contact him at eosmith@emory.edu.
Guest
The Space Show
