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a good example of prime numbers in nature -- and why they are important, e.g., for a kind of cicada which has a 13-year cycle... "Because 13 and 17 are both indivisible this gives the cicadas an evolutionary advantage as primes are helpful in avoiding other animals with periodic behaviour. Suppose for example that a predator appears every six years in the forest. Then a cicada with an eight or nine-year life cycle will coincide with the predator much more often than a cicada with a seven-year prime life cycle. These insects are tapping into the code of mathematics for their survival. The cicadas unwittingly discovered the primes using evolutionary tactics but humans have understood that these numbers not just the key to survival but are the very building blocks of the code of mathematics."

The selfie stick is the lightning rod of narcissism, says Howard Jacobson. Should people be concerned?

Has the world in the 21st Century reached a point of visual overload, asks Will Self.

"From an early age, we need to give digital literacy as much importance as numeracy and literacy. "While we welcome the introduction of the computing curriculum, we are concerned about the ability of teachers to deliver it - with more than half of our IT teachers not having a post-A-level qualification relevant to IT.

Hans Rosling spoke at the IB Asia Pacific conference in 2012. If you don't know his work, here's a short introduction to how he uses data to tell stories.

"While there's no doubt that information technology can have its downsides for our day-to-day behaviour, there is very little evidence that computers are damaging our brains - any more than writing made us more forgetful. In fact, computers might just make us a bit smarter."