…is another baby, according to Ace of Base. But is there a “right” time to have kids when you’re a scientist in academia? Continue reading
Fail to learn (a personal confession)
I hate making mistakes. Worse than that, I fear making mistakes. The realisation that I’ve made an error – or sometimes, just the thought that I might have made an error – is enough to bring on pinpricks of sweat, an urge to run away, and a noticeable loss of composure. Continue reading
Cloak and dagger
Manumission
“It was a fact of life that there was no crueller master than an ex-slave” (Robert Harris, “Pompeii”). Continue reading
Hire Education
Do universities offer a service or a product?
This, at heart, is the existential crisis that’s been afflicting the university system over the last decade or so, maybe longer. The answer has varied from one country to another, and often in an unexpected way. Continue reading
Blockbuster science vs Arthouse science
Are young scientists being encouraged to emulate Michael Bay? Continue reading
Mining the blue sky
Science may be unique in human activities in that it produces a raw material instead of a product. Continue reading
Facts, figures, and rhetoric
What’s the real purpose of scientific figures?
There’s a common misconception that they’re to show what we did. Continue reading
The art of refereeing
Could rugby teach scientists how to approach the review process?
On the night before the England rugby team attempt to win a first Six Nations grand slam since 2003, it seemed appropriate to have a rugby-themed posting. For those who are not fans of the game with the funny-shaped ball, bear with me… Continue reading
To Shape the Future
Does the world of science offer us a view of human society in the future?
Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev proposed a scale to rank the development of civilizations going from 1, to 2, to 3. Type 1 civilizations utilise energy from the star at the centre of their solar system; type 2 civilizations can harness the entire energy of output of that star; type 3 civilizations can tap into cosmic sources of power, probably the black holes at the centre of their host galaxy.
Everyone agrees that human civilization is currently type 0 (don’t be downhearted!), but may attain type 1 status in around 200 years if we’re still going. What might that type 1 civilization be like though? Continue reading
