Author Introduction: Rob Brooks

Evolutionary biologist who writes to inform, entertain and inspire

The day my family and I entered coronavirus isolation, I sent the first draft of my second book off to my publisher. I then promptly opened a Medium account and set about writing for and learning about this platform about which I had heard so much.

I am lucky, among writers, to have a day job that compliments my writing interests. I am Professor of Evolution at UNSW Sydney. There I teach courses on Animal Behaviour and on Evolution and the Modern World. The latter course reflects my interest in how the past in which all of our ancestors lived, mated, reproduced, and died, shaped the kind of organism we are today. My writing explores this same theme, and what happens when that evolved creature, adapted to ancient environments, encounters the cultural and economic circumstances of the present day.

Not an auspicious start

Both of my parents taught high school English. They cared a lot about reading and writing. You would think, then, that I had a serious head-start as a writer. The truth is, I loathed writing. In primary school, my handwriting would have offended a drug-addled spider. Generating any more than a few sentences seemed to me as impossible and pointless as climbing an icy cliff face. I seethed at those keen classmates who whacked off reams of artful prose whenever we were set a writing assignment.

The handwriting was just poor coordination due to slow development. By high school, I matured into a handy drawer and painter. As a gift, I made my mother a beautiful poster of one of her favorite quotes, which she kept in her classroom for the last decade of her career.

Of all those arts in which the wise excel, nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well — André Breton

Unfortunately, that masterpiece did not constitute part of my own repertoire. I could write an essay about biology or literature as well as anyone, but creative writing stalked me through my high-school years. My prosaic imagination could not make the leap into the imaginary and lacked the patience to show the reader what I had imagined. I epitomized the frightfully unsuccessful “tell, don’t show” school of failed creative writers.

In exasperation, my father finally sat down with me and helped me understand the total shift in mindset required for creative writing. It did not herald the start of an illustrious writing career, but it got me through high school.

Evolution of a writer

When I made Professor and finally felt I had passed all the exams life had in store for me, I gave some thought to what I really wanted to do when I grew up. I realized I had so many interesting insights about who humans are, some of them depressing, but most of them elevating, as a consequence of my research on evolution. Luckily Stephen Pincock, then a publisher at NewSouth books, came knocking. He had heard of a few of my stories.

Stephen commissioned my first book, Sex, Genes & Rock ’n’ Roll: How Evolution Shaped the Modern World (2011). It was great fun to write, partly because I aim for humor in my writing, and partly because the ideas are so exciting to consider. Writing it allowed me to explore a range of topics, from obesity and overpopulation to marriage customs and why so many rock stars die at age 27. It even won Australia’s only science book prize.

At about the time my book was published, The Conversation launched. It provided a perfect platform for a scientist who wanted to reach a popular audience. Professional editors help shape the article, but you have to approve the final version before publication. There are no surprise edits or changes that add pizzas at the expense of veracity. For a few years, I wrote a column there called The Natural History of the Present, until they discontinued columns. The Conversation is still a favorite outlet for me, with plenty of engaged, intelligent readers.

I like the Natural History of the Present name so much I repurposed it for my personal blog, where you can find almost everything I have written. That includes my Medium articles.

Which brings me back to that day, nearly 12 weeks ago, when I started writing for Medium and submitted the draft of my next book. I have published 15 ‘proper’ stories, five of them on ILLUMINATION, and republished seven old columns. They range from sexual robotics and virtual reality sex to tips for preparing an entertaining public talk, and from the abstract expressionism of ASMR to the similarities between today’s America and the apartheid South Africa of my youth.

I’m now revising the book before final copy editing. It will be published early in 2021. More to come on what the book is about when I have the final publication details. As a teaser, it’s about evolution, sex, technology, culture, …. and the future of humanity.