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David Barrie

Goodreads Author

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

https://davidbarrieauthor.org

Twitter

barrieauthor

Genre

Science, History, Nonfiction

Member Since

December 2015

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I've been fascinated by the astonishing things that animals can do ever since I was a small boy.

It took more than three years to research and write my latest book - SUPERNAVIGATORS. I traveled around the world to interview the top scientists and observed cutting-edge experiments in progress.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is an exploration of the wonders of animal navigation, and it explains what we now know about how animals find their way around. It is packed with amazing discoveries, and raises important questions about our own place in the world - now that we rely so heavily on our electronic gadgets to tell us where we are.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is published in the US by The Experiment and in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton (under the title INCREDIBLE JOURN I've been fascinated by the astonishing things that animals can do ever since I was a small boy.

It took more than three years to research and write my latest book - SUPERNAVIGATORS. I traveled around the world to interview the top scientists and observed cutting-edge experiments in progress.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is an exploration of the wonders of animal navigation, and it explains what we now know about how animals find their way around. It is packed with amazing discoveries, and raises important questions about our own place in the world - now that we rely so heavily on our electronic gadgets to tell us where we are.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is published in the US by The Experiment and in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton (under the title INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS).

My website - www.davidbarrieauthor.org - includes blog and vlog posts, as well as further information about me and my work.

You can follow me on Twitter @barrieauthor or on Instagram @authorbarrie

My last book, SEXTANT, was inspired by the life-changing experience of sailing across the Atlantic in the days before GPS had reduced navigation to a matter of pushing buttons. It is a hymn to the almost vanished art of fixing your position by the light of the sun and stars - with the aid of a sextant - an art on which mariners relied until only a generation ago. It also celebrates the incredibly brave and dedicated explorers who used the same technique to make the first accurate maps of the world's oceans.

Here’s a little bit about me:

I was brought up on the south coast of England where I learned to sail and fell in love with the traditional art of navigation. Since then I've sailed in many parts of the world - from British Columbia to the China Sea, and from the Hebrides to the Caribbean.

I have some background in the behavioral sciences having studied experimental psychology (and philosophy) at Oxford University. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation - Britain’s learned society for navigators.

My working life has been quite varied: the list of jobs includes deck hand, diplomat, intelligence analyst, arts administrator and criminal justice campaigner.

I'm married with two daughters and live in London. I also happen to be the great great nephew of J M Barrie, the author of PETER PAN, in case you’re interested! ...more

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Now that you have written Supernavigators, do you ever find yourself thinking of or doing science experiments with insects in nature?

David Barrie Thanks Emily. Good question! I really enjoyed observing the bogong moth experiments that I describe in Supernavigators, as well as talking to the many…moreThanks Emily. Good question! I really enjoyed observing the bogong moth experiments that I describe in Supernavigators, as well as talking to the many scientists I interviewed about their work. If I were starting out again I might well be tempted to carry out research on insects but to be honest I’m not sure I’m patient enough! (less)

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Hi, I very much enjoyed Incredible Journeys. Regarding the experiments with various animals, I was wondering about the ethical aspects. When describing the bird relocation experiments of Perdeck you say that this would not be allowed now. But the book is full of similar relocations and much more intrusive, chirurgical, experiments. Can you understand I have some reservations when reading this?

David Barrie Thanks very much for your question, Michiel. I assume you are a relation of Christiaan Perdeck.

I quite agree that Perdeck’s famous displacement studie…moreThanks very much for your question, Michiel. I assume you are a relation of Christiaan Perdeck.

I quite agree that Perdeck’s famous displacement studies probably caused no more suffering to individual birds than many of the more recent experiments I describe. But the scale was different. I don’t think displacements involving many thousands of animals would any longer be allowed. I meant no disrespect to Christiaan Perdeck.

I did touch on the ethics of animal experimentation in the preface to Incredible Journeys. But it’s a big and complicated subject. In general the rules governing animal experimentation (which vary a lot) have been getting steadily stricter since the 1950s. I think that’s a good thing, and most of the scientists I have spoken to would certainly agree.

I hope that answers your question. Thanks again for taking the trouble to write.

Best wishes

David Barrie (less)

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David Barrie’s books

Average rating: 3.89 · 1,662 ratings · 219 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, Robert Ingpen (Illustrator), David Barrie (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 4.03 avg rating — 372,598 ratings — published 1911 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Incredible Journeys: Exploring the Wonders of Animal Navigation 3.82 avg rating — 863 ratings — published 2019 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sextant: The Elegant Instrument That Guided the Great Explorers, and a Young Man's First Journey Across the Atlantic 3.96 avg rating — 792 ratings — published 2014 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Modern Painters by John Ruskin, David Barrie (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.09 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 1888 — 123 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sextant: A Voyage Guided by the Stars and the Men Who Mapped the World's Oceans by David Barrie (4-Jun-2015) Paperback 4.20 avg rating — 10 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Supernavigators: How Animals Find Their Way by David Barrie (Goodreads Author), Rebecca Stefoff (Goodreads Author) (Adapter), Qu Lan (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by David Barrie (?)

“Danaus plexippus.”
― David Barrie, Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way

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“The characteristic patterns of firing found in the grid cells that support map-like representations of space also appear when human subjects perform an entirely abstract cognitive task that has nothing whatever to do with navigation.”
― David Barrie, Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way

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“Brains are very greedy consumers of energy, which means a lot more food is necessary to keep them going. It does not pay to have a bigger brain than you really need.”
― David Barrie, Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way

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