AN IMMENSE WORLD

ED YONG, a science journalist at The Atlantic, delivered the 25th Annual Benjamin Cooper Memorial Lecture at GDS on November 21. Ed, whose COVID-19 coverage earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, spoke about his latest book, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

His talks—first at the High School Assembly and then at a GDS community event—addressed the gulf between how humans and animals perceive their surroundings. Ed offered fascinating descriptions of the sensory lives of dozens of different species and how they are affected by mankind. These animals are impacted by electromagnetic, tetrachromatic, and ultrasonic forces that our senses cannot detect, yet are vulnerable to human interference. Put simply: Most of the time, we don’t understand the mess we’re making.

The Benjamin Cooper Memorial Lecture, established in memory of Ben Cooper by his close friends and endowed by the Cooper-Areen family, enables GDS to bring a renowned guest lecturer to the School each year to stimulate the kind of dialogue in which Ben loved to participate. Ed’s talks were followed by lively question and answer sessions with the GDS audiences— epitomizing the kind of discussion our annual lecture encourages.