Marek Kohn is a British science writer on
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, biology and society.
Early life and education
Kohn holds an undergraduate degree in
neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
from the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
, a PhD from the
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achi ...
and has held fellowships at both schools. He is currently an honorary research fellow with the latter. His articles have appeared in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', ''
New Scientist
''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'', ''
Prospect
Prospect may refer to:
General
* Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer
* Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team
* Prospect (minin ...
'', ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', and he writes frequently for the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''.
Career
His first two books were on drugs, their cultural history, and their politics. He is the author of seven books and hundreds of articles.
Kohn's book, ''A Reason for Everything'' (2004), has received widespread praise, including
Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist
* Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...
' stating in his ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' review that "every evolutionist should read it," and Andrew Brown, author of ''the Darwin Wars'', writing in his ''Guardian'' review, "one of the best science writers we have."
In 1999, Kohn had proposed, together with the
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
Steven Mithen
Steven Mithen, (born 16 October 1960) is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading. He has written a number of books, including ''The Singing Neanderthals'' and ''The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion ...
, the "sexy
hand-axe
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or ...
hypothesis." This hypothesis proposes that pressures related to
sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (in ...
could result in men making symmetric hand axes to demonstrate their cognitive and physiological fitness.
Following the publication of his name in a list of persons invited to participate in
Steve Sailer's
Human Biodiversity Institute discussion pages, Kohn wrote to
Lynn Conway
Lynn Ann Conway (born January 2, 1938) is an American computer scientist, electrical engineer and transgender activist.
She worked at IBM in the 1960s and invented generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advance used in out-of-order ...
to dissociate himself from many of the participants' scientific and political views.
Kohn has also written about the possible future
effects of climate change
The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea le ...
on Britain's landscape and society; health inequalities; the evolutionary psychology of trust; and Poles in British society. Kohn is also the author of a guide to the
Wellcome Collection
Wellcome Collection is a museum and library based at 183 Euston Road, London, displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring "ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art". Founded in 2007, the Wellcome C ...
.
In December 2014, Kohn also contributed to the
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
''Live Documentary: Palace of Great War Varieties'' presented by
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...
.
Personal life
Kohn resides in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
with his wife, Sue Matthias Kohn; the couple have a son.
Books
*''Narcomania: On Heroin'' (1987)
*''Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground'' (1992; re-released 2003)
*''The Race Gallery: The Return of Racial Science'' (1995; re-released 1996)
*''As We Know It: Coming to Terms with an Evolved Mind'' (1999)
*''A Reason For Everything: Natural Selection and the English Imagination'' (2004)
*''Trust: Self-Interest and the Common Good''
*''Turned Out Nice: How the British Isles will Change as the World Heats Up'' (2010)
References
External links
Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohn, Marek
Science journalists
British science writers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Alumni of the University of Sussex
Alumni of the University of Brighton
20th-century births