LECTURES
BEYOND NETWORKS: THE EVOLUTION OF LIVING SYSTEMS
Watch on YouTube.
An exploration of organisms and their evolution which goes beyond our machine-based metaphors of genetic programmes, evolutionary optimality, and networks in systems biology. Provides a fresh and dynamic perspective on the complex intertwined processes that constitute life in all its beautiful diversity.
Lectures originally given in the context of the masters program in Evolutionary Systems Biology at the University of Vienna between April and June 2020.
An exploration of organisms and their evolution which goes beyond our machine-based metaphors of genetic programmes, evolutionary optimality, and networks in systems biology. Provides a fresh and dynamic perspective on the complex intertwined processes that constitute life in all its beautiful diversity.
Lectures originally given in the context of the masters program in Evolutionary Systems Biology at the University of Vienna between April and June 2020.
SCIENCE AS PROCESS AND PERSPECTIVE: BECOME A BETTER RESEARCHER THROUGH PHILOSOPHY
Watch on YouTube.
This crash course introduces researchers from the natural, social, and formal sciences to the philosophy of science and its relevance to everyday research practice. These short lectures act as discussion starters for researchers to reflect critically on their assumptions, methods, and the scope of your findings. They equip them with philosophical tools to identify biases, refine research questions, and gain fresh perspectives that enhance the quality and impact of their work.
Image from: existentialcomics.com/comic/230.
This crash course introduces researchers from the natural, social, and formal sciences to the philosophy of science and its relevance to everyday research practice. These short lectures act as discussion starters for researchers to reflect critically on their assumptions, methods, and the scope of your findings. They equip them with philosophical tools to identify biases, refine research questions, and gain fresh perspectives that enhance the quality and impact of their work.
Image from: existentialcomics.com/comic/230.
BEYOND THE AGE OF MACHINES: SHORTS & FULL LECTURES
These short animated summaries and full lectures cover the book "Beyond the Age of Machines," chapter by chapter, outlining a vision for a science for the 21st century beyond the view of the world, and everything in it, as a machine. Both series are work in progress, as the book is still being written.
Artwork by Marcus Neustetter.
Watch animated shorts on YouTube.
Watch full lectures on YouTube.
Artwork by Marcus Neustetter.
Watch animated shorts on YouTube.
Watch full lectures on YouTube.
MODELLING DEVELOPMENTAL SYSTEMS
Watch on YouTube.
This mini-series of lectures is about why and how to model developmental systems.
These lectures aim to convey a basic understanding of the purpose and potential of computational and mathematical modelling in developmental biology, and to familiarise the viewer with the basic concepts required for such understanding.
I have developed and taught this mini-series over the past few years as part of the Wellcome PhD Programme in Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge.
This mini-series of lectures is about why and how to model developmental systems.
These lectures aim to convey a basic understanding of the purpose and potential of computational and mathematical modelling in developmental biology, and to familiarise the viewer with the basic concepts required for such understanding.
I have developed and taught this mini-series over the past few years as part of the Wellcome PhD Programme in Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge.
... AND A SELECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS TALKS & OTHER EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS
The Difference between Living and Non-Living Things: educational short, developed for the Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems teaching platform. Inspired by a conversation between myself, Eduard Willms, Tobias Luthe, and Daniel Christian Wahl. Animations by Marcus Neustetter. For the accompanying essay, see here. Mar 21, 2024.
Beyond the Age of Machines: Ronin Institute Lightning Talk about my new research & book project, online, Jun 16, 2023.
Beyond the Age of Machines (at 49:20 of the full recording): a flash talk given at an event called "Human Development, Sustainability, and Agency" organized by IIASA, UNDP, and ÖAW. A full transcript is available here. This talk led to a contribution to the 2025 UNDP Report, which is described here. Vienna, Feb 22, 2023.
How Organisms Come to Know the World: a talk I gave at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Apr 29, 2022.
Wissenskunst: Serious Play with Evolutionary Ideas. A talk given for Transparent Eyeball at the Hope Recycling Station in Prague (online), on Mar 20, 2022.
What is time? What is change? "Sciences in Context" Seminar, CRI Paris, Mar 26, 2019.
Beyond networks: the evolutionary dynamics of developmental processes. Pt. 1. Pt. 2. PhiloBio Seminar, Bordeaux, Feb 27, 2018.
Everything flows: towards a processual perspective on life. Workshop: "The Nature of our Biophilic Universe", Rome, Dec 1, 2016.
Beyond the Age of Machines: Ronin Institute Lightning Talk about my new research & book project, online, Jun 16, 2023.
Beyond the Age of Machines (at 49:20 of the full recording): a flash talk given at an event called "Human Development, Sustainability, and Agency" organized by IIASA, UNDP, and ÖAW. A full transcript is available here. This talk led to a contribution to the 2025 UNDP Report, which is described here. Vienna, Feb 22, 2023.
How Organisms Come to Know the World: a talk I gave at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Apr 29, 2022.
Wissenskunst: Serious Play with Evolutionary Ideas. A talk given for Transparent Eyeball at the Hope Recycling Station in Prague (online), on Mar 20, 2022.
What is time? What is change? "Sciences in Context" Seminar, CRI Paris, Mar 26, 2019.
Beyond networks: the evolutionary dynamics of developmental processes. Pt. 1. Pt. 2. PhiloBio Seminar, Bordeaux, Feb 27, 2018.
Everything flows: towards a processual perspective on life. Workshop: "The Nature of our Biophilic Universe", Rome, Dec 1, 2016.
To book me as a lecturer for your institute seminar, lecture series, or conference, contact me here.