Monthly Archives: November 2022

Apotheosis

Posted on 30 November 2022 by Henry Gee

You’ll both be aware by now that my recent tome was shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize for 2022. You’ll recall that my book kept some mighty company, so imagine my surprise and delight when, at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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What I Read In November

Posted on 28 November 2022 by Henry Gee

Frans de Waal: Different A salutary and timely corrective to all those engaged in debates about sex and gender that nothing makes sense except in the light of evolution. Humans are animals, and so are our various itches and scratches. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in climate change denial, crusades, edward gibbon, frans de waal, gender, gender studies, gerontology, monty python world's funniest joke, Peter Stott, Richard Osman, rose Anne Kenny, royal society science book prize, sex, The Thursday Murder Club, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on What I Read In November

Has the World Changed (Enough)?

Posted on 27 November 2022 by Athene Donald

“The reported incidents of racism and misogyny are extremely alarming” according to Gareth Cook, fire brigade’s union regional organiser for London about the recent report into the London Fire Brigade. “Women have been “systematically failed” by the criminal justice system”, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in confidence, harassment, Lindemann Trust, MIT, Women in science | Comments Off on Has the World Changed (Enough)?

Incompletion

Posted on 20 November 2022 by Henry Gee

I regret to say that today I have had to do something I almost never do, mostly because I really hate doing it – and that’s abandon a book I had been reading. And I had got almost all the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Intelligent life: Isaiah Berlin

Posted on 18 November 2022 by Stephen

Thanks to the paucity of my education and cultural life I have come late to Isaiah Berlin, the noted philosopher and historian of ideas whose thinking provided such a guiding light to the 20th Century. But I’m definitely a fan … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Communication breakdown

Posted on 16 November 2022 by rpg

Twitter is dead. Long live … whatever comes next. Twitter actually died a few years back. It was around about the time when your timeline began to fill up with images. About the same time that The Algorithm started showing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Ill-considered rants, internet, social media, twitter | Comments Off on Communication breakdown

Refereeing and Bullies

Posted on 10 November 2022 by Athene Donald

We’ve heard a lot about bullying at the heart of government in recent days. One defence of the behaviour of the former Chief Whip is that it used to be worse, much worse. That is of course a line one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullies, de Gennes, hierarchies, power imbalance, Science Culture | Comments Off on Refereeing and Bullies

In which we fall

Posted on 6 November 2022 by Jennifer Rohn

Fireworks crackle in the darkness: yesterday’s Bonfire Night stretching to fill the entire weekend. The torrential rains have given way to an almost full moon, glowing cold-silver in the eastern sky. November is always a positive month, with the cosiness … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Joshua, Research, staring into the abyss, students, Teaching, The profession of science, work-life balance | Comments Off on In which we fall

Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

Posted on 3 November 2022 by Athene Donald

We are stuck in an academic world where the model of how science research is done appears not to have shifted much from that deemed appropriate fifty years ago. Back then (more or less when I set out, give or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, HEPI, Matthew Flinders, mentoring, Research, Science Culture, teams | Comments Off on Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

In The Air Tonight

Posted on 1 November 2022 by Henry Gee

 The dream of any author is having their books on sale in the duty-free shops at major airports, alongside the generic thrillers and self-help manuals. Imagine my pleasure therefore at receiving this snap taken by Professor F___ W___, who spotted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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