Sant Jordi is the perfect day to discover new readings. In this article, we encourage you to explore "De la Sabana a Mart" by Xavier Sala i Martín, "Ets el que menges" by Núria Coll and "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben. Through this selection of books, you will travel from the African savannah to space, through your fridge and the world of trees. Delve into these fascinating works and celebrate Sant Jordi's day with a new perspective.
XAVIER SALA I MARTÍN (2023). From the savannah to Mars.
The earliest of our species competed with lions to hunt zebras and gazelles in the African Serengeti. Two thousand centuries later, lions still hunt the same zebras and gazelles with the same methods in the same places they did then. We, on the other hand, have colonized every corner of the planet and achieved immeasurable levels of prosperity and well-being.
How did we do it? Well, thanks to that kilo and a half of gelatinous mass that we have between ear and ear that we call the brain and that gives us a natural intelligence with which we generate three types of ideas: scientific ones, which allow us to understand how the universe works. Technological ones that put within the reach of mortals things that ancient thinkers imagined that only the almighty gods could do: from flying like Mercury to hearing conversations at a distance like Odin. And finally, the social ideas with which we organize and coordinate economies of billions of people in which each one does a very small job but where together we do everything. As individuals we are pathetically useless and precisely for this reason, the humans who survived the attacks of the Pleistocene beasts are the ones who knew how to work as a team. We are descendants of those who knew how to form small societies where everyone helped each other. From there comes our strength as a species, the strength that has made it possible for humans to write an incomparable story over the centuries.
How does the brain work? What is intelligence? What are the ideas that have transformed the world?
A fascinating history of humanity through the scientific, technological, and social ideas that have allowed us to reach colossal levels of prosperity.
A tribute to the 10,000 generations it took us to make the journey from living with lions on the savannah to sending spaceships to Mars.
Author bio
Xavier Sala i Martín is, since 2003, principal economic adviser and author of the Global Competitiveness Index of the Davos World Economic Forum, and since 1990, a researcher at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). He is a founding member of the Wilson Collective, a group of professors and scholars dedicated to defending the right to choose. He has received numerous awards, such as the Joan Carles I award, the Arrow award, awarded by the International Health Economics Association for the best article on health economics in the world, the Conde de Godó Award for Journalism, and the Lee Hixson and Lenfest awards. , awarded by the students of the universities of Yale and Columbia, respectively, to the best professors of the entire university.
He is the author of the book's Notes on economic growth, Liberal economy for non-economists and non-liberals, Doncs jo ho veig així (Rosa dels Vents, 2010), És l'hora del adéus (Rosa del Vents, 2014) and Economic Growth (with Robert Barro), and has published more than fifty scholarly articles and more than three hundred popular articles. He is a regular contributor to Ara, RAC1, Catalunya Ràdio and Televisió de Catalunya.</ P>
NÚRIA COLL (2023). I am what I eat.
Eating healthy isn't hard, but sometimes we get lost in all the data and fad diets. You don't have to learn every new nutritional study; It would probably do us better to stop and think a bit. In this book of reflections and advice, the journalist specialized in healthy eating, Núria Coll, with ideas and thoughts based on common sense, proposes a clear objective: to awaken in the reader the ambition of having their own criteria so that they do not depend on what that gurus say you have to eat. This book will empower you to find your own path in your diet.
“When I started promoting healthy eating in 2014, I didn't have much knowledge, but in a short time, I realized that we urgently had to avoid many of the jars and packages that fill our pantries. In a matter of weeks, I radically changed my eating habits, started eating healthy, and learned something crucial: it was not just what to eat that was important, but how.” Núria Coll.
Author bio
Núria Coll (Barcelona, 1980) is a journalist, businesswoman, and CEO of the Soycomocomo Community, a communication group with thousands of followers and one of the largest in the integrative health sector in our country. The group also has a virtual nutritional consultation, the online store www.comocomofoods.com, and is a reference in health and nutrition courses and programs.
PETER WOHLLEBEN (2017). The secret life of trees.
Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland. A walk in the woods will never be the same again.
Author bio
Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland, where he works for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about trees.
