Nikolay Kukushkin is a Russian-born neuroscientist based in Brooklyn. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Petersburg State University, a D. Phil. in biochemistry from Oxford University, and received post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He is currently a clinical assistant professor at New York University’s Liberal Studies, and a research fellow at NYU’s Center for Neural Science, where he studies the molecular, cellular and evolutionary foundations of memory formation. At NYU, he teaches an acclaimed course, “Life Science,” on which the present book is loosely based. An earlier version of One Hand Clapping won the most prestigious book prize for Russian nonfiction, the Enlightener (Prosvetitel) Award, as well as the Alexander Belyaev Medal, awarded to the best Russian-language nonfiction and science fiction.

'Brilliant, bold, and beautifully articulated,One Hand Clapping is the best of biological thought. Starting with the origins of life, Kukushkin deftly solves the chicken-and-egg problem, moves gracefully to the notion of emergence, and concludes with a compelling account of ourselves as curious creatures, co-constructing our cultural niches ― and all that entails for being you and me' - Karl J. Friston, Professor of Neuroscience, University College London

Nikolay Kukushkin is a Russian-born neuroscientist based in Brooklyn. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Petersburg State University, a D. Phil. in biochemistry from Oxford University, and received post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He is currently a clinical assistant professor at New York University’s Liberal Studies, and a research fellow at NYU’s Center for Neural Science, where he studies the molecular, cellular and evolutionary foundations of memory formation. At NYU, he teaches an acclaimed course, “Life Science,” on which the present book is loosely based. An earlier version of One Hand Clapping won the most prestigious book prize for Russian nonfiction, the Enlightener (Prosvetitel) Award, as well as the Alexander Belyaev Medal, awarded to the best Russian-language nonfiction and science fiction.

'Brilliant, bold, and beautifully articulated,One Hand Clapping is the best of biological thought. Starting with the origins of life, Kukushkin deftly solves the chicken-and-egg problem, moves gracefully to the notion of emergence, and concludes with a compelling account of ourselves as curious creatures, co-constructing our cultural niches ― and all that entails for being you and me' - Karl J. Friston, Professor of Neuroscience, University College London