www.codi.beltanenetwork.org
@CODIfringe
#codi15
Contact: Lucy Gibbons – codi@beltanenetwork.org or 07534610322
“Alas, poor Darwin..?”
Sunday 16th August |3pm-4pm| Venue 372 - The Stand in the Square|
Tickets: £8 (7) @ www.edfringe.com and www.thestand.co.uk
If Darwin was alive today he’d be very, very angry about what we’ve done with his idea.
Evolutionary theory can be used to explain pretty much any human behaviour, but that
doesn’t mean it should be. Is it natural for married men to have affairs? Are good novelists
more evolutionary? Does the pill make you more attracted to your brother? Psychologist
Kate Cross and Biologist Lewis Dean will use sketches, debate and game shows to explore
the data behind the headlines and help decide: evolutionary just-so story, or evolutionary
just-right?
“Alas, poor Darwin..?” is part of a series of shows focused around provocative statements
and debate - The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas. The cabaret is a compilation of 24
interactive shows where challenging questions are posed and answers are sought. It is
curated by the Beltane Public Engagement Network, produced by Fair Pley and compared
by Comedienne Susan Morrison. The audience is encourage to speak up and shake the
grey matter while debating with some of Scotland’s fiercest intellectuals.
Dr Kate Cross is a lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St
Andrews. Her main research interest is in sex differences in human and social behaviour, particularly
in how sex differences in behaviour may vary depending on contextual factors.
Dr Lewis Dean is a research fellow in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University
of St Andrews. His research focuses on the evolution of social cognition and cultural transmission. He
works with a variety of primate species (including humans) to examine how traditions, culture and
cognition have evolved. He has worked for Sense about Science and The Physiological Society on
public engagement with science and science communication.
Full Programme for the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas available below and at
http://codi.beltanenetwork.org/codi-2015/the-shows/ (see attached brochure for more details).
Contact Lucy Gibbons: codi@beltanenetwork.org for any queries or more information.
Date
Title
Performers
Fri 7
Soak up the sun and to hell with skin
cancer!
Richard Weller
Sat 8
Hearing loss or deaf gain?
Jemina Napier, Noel O’Connell
Sun 9
GM bacteria could save your life
Clare Taylor
Mon 10
Cervical cancer – you’re history!
Sarah Howie, Heather Cubie
Tue 11
Scotland in six swallies
Susan Morrison
Wed 12
Stop brushing your teeth!
Jan Clarkson
Thu 13
Women, science is still not for you!
Pam Cameron, Clare Taylor
Fri 14
Let’s turn on the smart light
Yunlu Wang, Aravind Venugopalan
Sat 15
Not so native now
Antonella Sorace
Sun 16
Alas, poor Darwin..?
Kate Cross, Lewis Dean
Mon 17
Fashion and the selfie
Mal Burkinshaw
Tue 18
Whose face is it anyway?
Felicity Mehendale
Wed 19
The hidden world of functional disorders
Jon Stone
Thu 20
Wild, Scottish and free
Ian Edwards
Fri 21
Skating on thin ice
Lorna Street, Phil Wookey
Sat 22
Swords into ploughshares
Jolyon Mitchell, Lesley Orr
Sun 23
The cocaine conspiracy
Karina Banda, Julieth Serrano and
Maria Fernanda- Torres
Mon 24
The war on drugs is harmful
Stephen Lawrie
Tue 25
Hug a thug
Lesley McAra and Susan McVie
Wed 26
Back to the statistical future!
Nicola Osborne, Helen Aiton
Thu 27
The Great British Brain Off
Alan Gow
Fri 28
What if Lance Armstrong had the right idea?
Derek Ball
Sat 29
Computers are only for geeks
Karen Petrie
Sun 30
Edinburgh should ban students
Mary Bownes