Otley Science Festival: Science Cafe

Beyond the Notes: Exploring Pain and Suffering Through Spatial Acousmatic Music

Prof. Mark Johnson, School of Health, Leeds Beckett University and Prof. Nikos Stavropoulos,  Leeds School of Arts, Leeds Beckett University 

What happens when we start listening differently? This talk invites you to explore acousmatic music—where sound floats free from its source—and discover how it can unlock new ways of engaging with pain, emotion, memory, and suffering. Expect the unexpected.

‘The unseen problem of plant blindness‘

Dr Julie Peacock, School of Geography, University of Leeds

The phenomenon of plant blindness -“the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment”, was first coined by Schussler Wandersee in 1998. There are evolutionary reasons why our brains developed to detect animals and not plants, which is exacerbated when coupled with an education system that does not value identification skills, and a general reduction in people’s connectedness to nature.

This is problematic. If plants are unknown and undervalued, conservation effort is limited. Yet, plants are fundamental to environmental health and the survival of many animals, often viewed as worthy of protecting. An under-appreciation of plants also matters, ultimately, for human health. We cannot tackle many of the current global challenges without plant scientists and plant aware people.

In this talk we will explore the issues and the impact of this phenomenon, and the role individuals can play in reversing it.