In 1996, former Cambridge University Lecturer in Archeology, Steve Mithen who also has a Ph.D in Archeology from Cambridge, published a book entitled “The Prehistory of the Mind” with the subtitle “A search for the origins of Art, Religion and Science.” In many respects, this book has been touted as being more influential than anything that is written before in the history of Cognitive Archeology. So what makes Mithen’s book so influential? The following are the reasons why I think this is so: 1.) It is very easy to read - If you ask me for a list of the top five recommended books to read on Cognitive Archeology, the “Pre-history of the mind” would probably be number one on my list. Having read thousand of pages of books and articles on cognitive archeology, this is probably the best one I have come across that is so easy to read. The reason for this is because Mithen intended this to be so. In the preface he wrote “I have tried to write a book that makes evidence from prehistory … [Read more...]
Asia’s next generation attempt to tackle its greatest challenge
Last year, I joined an essay writing contest sponsored by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public policy of the National University of Singapore and Time’s Magazine. The theme of the essay contest was “Asia Challenge 2020.” The objective of the contest is to find out the thoughts of Asians as to what is the most important challenge facing Asia over the next decade? Why? What should be done about it? I along with other Asian essayist submitted essays of 3,000 words or less in response to these questions. My essay was entitled “Solving Asia's Poverty Problem” where I made an argument that the greatest challenge that Asia will face in the next decade is poverty. Unfortunately I did not win the contest. But I’m glad that they turned our entries into a book. I was just informed this week that the book is out, the title of the book is “Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia's Next Generation” The book is described in the Amazon website as follows “What will Asia look like ten … [Read more...]