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Author Archives: Athene Donald
Laying Ghosts to Rest
Many years ago I was invited to give one of the keynote talks at a conference in the USA. I was young and I was flattered. It was a Conference on Polymer Physics held on the east coast of America. … Continue reading
Posted in conferences, Equality, Science Culture, self-confidence, sexism
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Choice not Dogma
Last week a writer for the Financial Times joined the club of those journalists who seem to think there is some awful plot out there to force young girls to study science. Not so long ago it was Cristina Odone, … Continue reading
Posted in Angela Saini, Cristina Odone, education, journalism, stereotyping, Women in science
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On a Short Fuse
I am frequently astonished by the chutzpah some people possess: the willingness brazenly to ask someone else essentially to do their own work so that they, the asker, can make cash. An email that smacked of this landed in my … Continue reading
Posted in Equality, Mary Beard, name-calling, Philip Hampton
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The Sound of Silence
There is the blissful silence away from email because you are lounging on a warm beach somewhere (or up a cold and wet mountain, according to taste) with your smart phone resolutely turned off. But the silence only lasts as … Continue reading
Posted in email, jerks, power games, Science Culture
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What Genre Do You Write In?
I’ve been reading a surprising amount about conehead crickets recently. An insect I had never previously encountered but which crossed my path, metaphorically, twice in one day due to my bad habit of reading multiple books simultaneously. On my Kindle … Continue reading
Posted in bumblebees, Communicating Science, Dave Goulson, mark cocker, Science Culture, Writing
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You’re Crazy, It’s Impossible
Many people get told messages like this. You’ll never manage this, you’re insane to try that, don’t even think about starting the other…..every reader will have their own particular bête noire version of these phrases thrown at them as a … Continue reading
Posted in #Ididitanyway, Bernhard Schrefler, Science Culture, Womanthology, Women in science
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Transparency and the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap has been much in the news with the revelations about the pay of the BBC’s superstars. Whatever you may feel about the level of remuneration for Chris Evans compared with Andrew Marr, whether you believe one … Continue reading
Posted in BBC, Equal Pay Review, Equality, Glynis Breakwell
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Are Things Getting Better for Postdocs in Cambridge?
As a recent article in Nature pointed out, housing costs in Cambridge are a significant issue for new recruits to the university. As a city it suffers both from its proximity to London – well within commuter belt, as the … Continue reading
Posted in accommodation, North West Cambridge, Office for Postdoctoral Affairs, Research, Science Culture
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The Importance of Finding Nothing Out
‘Melts in the mouth, not in the hand’: so said a chocolate advertisement from my youth for the predecessor of Minstrels (a discontinued brand called Treets). Melting temperature is of course an important consideration when it comes to the elegance … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Cohen, chocolate, Hannah Devlin, Industrial Strategy Commission, Research, Science Culture
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Inching Forward
This week Cambridge University held its annual Diversity event, hosted by the Vice Chancellor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, always known as Borys. He has been an outstanding leader on this, as on so many fronts, but he is retiring as VC … Continue reading
Posted in double standards, Equality, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, The Meaning of Success, University of Cambridge, Women in science
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