A bittersweet message to my beloved. Continue reading
A Valentine’s to science
The world of science
To boldly go
Big science doesn’t have a monopoly on the big questions. Continue reading
Take your Time
Life seems to be getting faster and faster in the modern age – we no longer kill time, we try to save it. Continue reading
The artisan scientist
There’s a passage in “Lark Rise to Candleford”, Flora Thompson’s eloquent eulogy to pre-industrial Britain, where she recounts staying near Northampton with an aunt. Her aunt’s husband is a shoemaker, one of the many independent artisans of the time plying his trade in laces and leather. Continue reading
Fellow travellers
Science and the arts are often portrayed as polar opposites, but the truth is that they’re far closer than many of their practitioners even realise. Continue reading
A drawing room of dukes
“When I am in the company of scientists,” observed the poet W. H. Auden, “I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by mistake into a drawing room of dukes.” Continue reading
G(u)ilded cages
Protectionism is back in the news at the moment, so it seems timely to look back at one form of protectionism and its unlikely correspondence to science – the guild system. Continue reading
Science’s Ten Commandments
What does it mean to be a scientist? Here’s TIR‘s take on the matter – a list of ten commandments. See what you think. Continue reading
Thicker than blood
There’s one way in which the world of science strongly resembles the Roman Empire – its dynasties and pedigrees are formed not through blood, but through adoption. Continue reading
Cooking and Gleaning
In conversation, it’s not unusual for people to baulk when you tell them you’re a scientist. “Oh, I wouldn’t understand any of that” is a line you’ll hear over and over again. “Rubbish!” is a good response: “It’s just like cooking – but with tiny volumes!” Continue reading
Total Internal Reflection 