Nelson Jones blogs as Heresiarch, dedicated to countering complacency, received opinions and incoherent thought wherever it is found in religion, atheism, politics and popular culture. The blog was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2011, and long-listed in 2009. He also blogs under his own name for the New Statesman. Nelson also writes regularly for Skeptic magazine.
Smart drugs: magic bullet or cheating ourselves?
"I was impressed by the intensity of the debate and the high level of intellectual engagement, not least by the audience. It was an invigorating, even exhilarating experience to be part of a festival based on the conviction that disagreement is good. The Battle of Ideas is a fantastic concept, may it spread epidemically to the rest of the world. I am already looking forward to next year's event."
Thomas Hylland Eriksen, professor of social anthropology, University of Oslo; novelist
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