Zafar Syed is a fiction writer, critic, historian, science educator, and translator who works in both English and Urdu. He is the author of ten books, including two novels, a volume of criticism, a popular science title, a research monograph, and five translations. Beyond his books, he has published hundreds of articles in international publications on history, literature, culture, science, and related fields, and has lectured widely across Pakistan. His intellectual interests span evolution, free will, consciousness, artificial intelligence, history, linguistics and neurology. Zafar is currently the Editor of Independent Urdu, the Urdu-language edition of The Independent (UK). He has previously worked with the BBC, Voice of America, and the U.S. State Department.