Brigitte Helm on set as the Machine Human in Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927). Photo by Horst von Harbou (Wikimedia Commons). We may be heading beyond silicon technology and into an age of biocomputing, where AGI wakes up and humans are slowly but surely shunted into a netherworld of inferiority. But we’re not there yet. We’re still in the land of bots with relatively basic, though impressively speedy, processing abilities. What’s more concerning than Judgement Day, though, is our acceptance...

I’ve always admired unshakeability - the knack of being able to stay composed and centred in the face of life’s challenges. As with physical fitness, this takes more than just having a strong constitution. We need flexibility to adapt to change, and agility to manoeuvre through it. Much of our reaction to our environment and circumstance is involuntary. Our autonomic nervous system is continually shifting between two alternately dominant modes. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) speeds our...

Visual messaging is powerful. It’s the quickest way to get a reaction. Pictures might seize our attention, but what can words conjure...