Risk: (Series Number 24 Darwin College Lectures)

Recent events from the economic downturn to climate change mean that there has never been a better time to be thinking about and trying to better understand the concept of risk. In this book, prominent and eminent speakers from fields as diverse as statistics to classics, neuroscience to criminology, politics to astronomy, as well as speakers embedded in the media and in government, have put their ideas down on paper in a series of essays that broaden our understanding of the meaning of risk. The essays come from the prestigious Darwin College Lecture Series which, after twenty-five years, is one of the most popular public lecture series at the University of Cambridge. The risk lectures in 2010 were amongst the most popular yet and, in essay form, they make for a lively and engaging read for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Layla Skinns, Michael Scott and Tony Cox; 2. Quantifying uncertainty David Spiegelhalter; 3. Decisions, risk and the brain John P. O'Doherty; 4. Risk and government: the architectonics of blame avoidance Christopher Hood; 5. Risk and the humanities: alea iacta est Mary Beard; 6. Terrorism and counterterrorism: what is at risk? Lucia Zedner; 7. Risk and natural catastrophes: the long view Mark Bailey; 8. Risk in the context of (human-induced) climate change Robert Watson.

About the Author :
Since starting research in 1968, Tony Cox has published over 150 research papers and 30 reviews and evaluations on a range of topics in atmospheric chemistry. His main contributions to the understanding of the chemistry of the atmosphere is through studies of kinetics and mechanisms of atmospheric reactions. His work led to many new insights into the atmospheric oxidation of sulphur dioxide and volatile organic compounds, the formation of peroxyacetyl nitrate and the chemistry of alkoxy radicals, which are central to photochemical oxidant pollution. He has also demonstrated the formation of novel unstable halogen compounds which become significant at low atmospheric temperatures and play important roles in the chemistry of Antarctic ozone depletion. He has contributed to numerous international assessments of tropospheric chemistry and stratospheric ozone depletion. Michael Scott is currently the Moses and Mary Finley Fellow in Ancient History at Darwin College and an affiliated lecturer at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. He is the author of From Democrats to Kings (2009) and Delphi and Olympia (Cambridge University Press, 2010). His research concentrates on the roles of material culture in ancient Greek and Roman society. In addition, he is actively engaged in broadening access to, and engagement with, the ancient world through school talks, guest lecturing, writing for national and international newspapers and magazines, as well as presenting historical documentaries for TV in the UK, USA and Australia. Layla Skinns is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Centre for Criminological Research, School of Law, University of Sheffield and formerly the Adrian Socio-Legal Research Fellow, Darwin College and Teaching Associate at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. She has conducted a wide array of research on topics such as crime prevention, drug users and the criminal justice system, restorative justice and, most recently, on policing in England, Ireland, Australia and the United States. She has also authored a number of scholarly publications, as well as policy reports aimed at a wider audience of criminal justice practitioners and policymakers.