Ask the Author: Richard L. Currier
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Richard L. Currier
Write about the things you care about—things that inspire you, that you are burning to talk about, the stories that excite your mind. And whether you write fiction or non-fiction, don’t forget to tell a good story. The human mind loves a narrative, and nothing captures its attention better than a story well told.
Richard L. Currier
I decided to write UNBOUND when I began thinking about the profound changes in human life and society that have occurred as a result of the invention of computers and digital communications. Then I began to think about the equally profound changes brought about by the industrial revolution—and before that, the rise of civilization—and still earlier, the agricultural revolution, and so on. Having taught college courses in human evolution, I realized that these technology-driven changes in life and society extended all the way back to our earliest primate origins. This was an aspect of the human story that I felt needed to be told.
Richard L. Currier
In the process of doing research, as I read what others have written on a given subject, I find myself thinking about the different approaches and conclusions of other authors, and before long I begin to formulate my own questions and conclusions. Not wishing to forget what I am thinking, I begin to put my thoughts on paper, and before long the whole process takes hold of me and I find it difficult to stop.
Richard L. Currier
My current project is tentatively entitled "THE DISHARMONIOUS SOCIETY: Human Nature in a Technological World." This book is an exploration of how far the conditions of modern life and society have strayed from the conditions that existed during most of human history, when our ancestors lived for millions of years in small nomadic groups of hunters and gatherers. In other words, our human natures, which were adapted to a more “natural” way of life, are now completely out of synch with the “artificial” technological environment in which we now live. As a result, modern people are suffering from a rising tide of mental and physical disorders—including free-floating anxiety, chronic depression, bipolar disorder, autism, ADHD, drug addiction, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes—that are unique to modern times.
Richard L. Currier
From a personal standpoint, being a writer allows you the unique freedom to create your own universe, to set your own rules, and to chart your own course in the life of the mind. From a social standpoint, writing enables you to contribute your thoughts and perceptions to your society and culture in an enduring form, and—in the process—to make your own unique contribution to the sum total of human knowledge.
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