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Library and Archives Canada  •  395 Wellington Street
11:30am

The Explorer’s Gene

with Alex Hutchinson

Hosted by Sarah Everts

Saturday
Oct , 2025
25
The Explorer’s Gene
Alex Hutchinson

Deeply researched, citing a wide range of studies – some published as recently as last year – that shed light on why some are driven to seek adventure while others are content in their comfort zone… The Explorer’s Gene challenges us to consider how to stoke that spirit without changing course entirely.

New Scientist

New York Times-bestselling author of Endure, Alex Hutchinson, returns with The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, a provocative investigation into how exploration, uncertainty, and risk shape our behaviour and help us find meaning.

 

Off the beaten path, following unmarked trails, we are wired to explore. More than just a need to get outside, the search for the unknown is a primal urge that has shaped the history of our species and continues to mold our behavior in ways we are only beginning to understand. In fact, the latest neuroscience suggests that exploration in any form—whether its trying a new restaurant, changing careers, or deciding to run a marathon—is an essential ingredient of human life. Exploration, it turns out, isnt merely a hobby—its our story.

 

The Explorers Gene combines riveting stories of exploration with cutting-edge insights from behavioural psychology and neuroscience, making a powerful case that our lives are better—more productive, more meaningful, and more fun—when we break our habits and chart a new path. 

 

 

Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.

 

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