The Importance of Ideas

Book excerpt: Elephants in Europe, heroes, the end of neoliberalism: the ebook before you is unlike any other. Within its virtual pages, you will find a plethora of provoking ideas from thinkers, scientists, writers and comedians. In their short contributions, authors as diverse as Nate Silver and Naomi Wolf, Polly Morland and Michael Pollan offer their thoughts on everything from Big Data to big appetites. Ideas – new, unexpected, creative, counter-intuitive and reflective – are an irresistible source of joy. They get the grey matter turning over, they can inform and inspire, prompt us change our minds or discover why we disagree with something. Without ideas, life is drab and flat. With a new flow of ideas, it is vibrant and exciting. The sixteen ideas contained within this ebook will both take you to new subjects and invite you to look afresh at ones you know well. Drawn from the some of the most popular speakers at the Bristol Festival of Ideas, and introduced and edited by the Festival’s curator, Andrew Kelly, The Importance of Ideas is an utterly original assortment of thoughts to make you think. The full list of contributors, in alphabetical order: Katharine Baldock, Sanjay Basu, Bidisha, Robin Ince, Tony Juniper, Sunder Katwala, Sara Maitland, Jane Memmott, George Monbiot, Polly Morland, Geoff Mulgan, Michael Pollan, Lord David Sainsbury, Michael Sandel, Nate Silver, Andrew Solomon, David Stuckler, Naomi Wolf.