Our blogs
- Adventures in Wonderland by Richard Wintle
- Athene Donald's Blog by Athene Donald
- Blogging by Candlelight by Erika Cule
- Confessions by Richard P Grant
- Deep Thoughts and Silliness by Bob O'Hara
- Girl Interrupting by Sylvia McLain
- Mind the Gap by Jenny Rohn
- Nicola Spaldin's Blog by Nicola Spaldin
- No Comment by Steve Caplan
- Not ranting – honestly by Austin Elliott
- Reciprocal Space by Stephen Curry
- The End of the Pier Show by Henry Gee
- Trading Knowledge by Frank Norman
- VWXYNot? by Cath Ennis
- The Occam's Typewriter Irregulars by Guest Bloggers
OT Cloud
- academia
- Apparitions
- book review
- Books
- Canada
- career
- careers
- Communicating Science
- communication
- Cromer
- Domestic bliss
- Domesticrox
- education
- Equality
- Gardening
- Guest posts
- History
- humor
- Lablit
- Meta
- Music
- Open Access
- personal
- Photography
- photos
- Politicrox
- Politics
- Research
- science
- Science & Politics
- Science-fiction
- Science Culture
- Science Funding
- Science Is Vital
- Scientific Life
- Scientific thinking
- Silliness
- students
- technology
- The profession of science
- travel
- Uncategorized
- Women in science
- Writing
- Writing & Reading
Occam’s Chatter
- Sylvia McLain on Merry Christmas
- rpg on Merry Christmas
- Sylvia McLain on Merry Christmas
- cromercrox on Merry Christmas
- Richard Wintle on Merry Christmas
December 2023 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Author Archives: Stephen
An open letter on EDI matters to the Secretary of State for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
The letter below started out as a ‘closed’ communication sent to DSIT on 11th October but in the absence of any response, despite two reminders, and the revelation in the meantime that the Secretary of State herself sometimes has occasion … Continue reading Continue reading
Kenya: Where the Wild Things Are
Everyone we knew who had been on safari told us they’d had such an amazing experience that I was worried our expectations for our trip to Kenya were being set too high. I needn’t have been concerned. For six days … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Photography
Comments Off on Kenya: Where the Wild Things Are
Why Succession failed me – just
I have been trying to put my finger on why I have found Succession — HBO’s must-see series about fictional US media mogul Logan Roy and his dysfunctional family — to be at once utterly compelling and annoyingly dissatisfying. The … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in TV review
Comments Off on Why Succession failed me – just
A day in Auschwitz
Last week I visited Auschwitz. I find myself hesitating to write or say anything because I can’t find the words to convey the horror of the place and, in any case, so much has already been written and said far … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in History of Science
Comments Off on A day in Auschwitz
The separation of life and death
Who is that stranger in my father’s bed? Those sunken eyes The concave cheeks Salted with stubble The thinned grey hair Plastered to a narrow skull. I have lost the man I loved. In truth it had been a long … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in philosophy
Comments Off on The separation of life and death
What’s the easiest way to become a less lazy photographer?
I’m thinking of becoming a less lazy photography. Can you help? Long-time readers of this blog will know that I enjoy a bit of photography from time to time, since I have an annual tradition of posting my favourite photographs … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in science
Comments Off on What’s the easiest way to become a less lazy photographer?
Books of 2022
Another year, another tweet thread of the books I read these past twelvemonth. Click on the images to access higher resolution versions which are just about legible, or better still, read the thread on Twitter. In 2022 I managed just … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in science
Comments Off on Books of 2022
Photos of 2022
Another year, another two thousand or more photographs, some of which I thought were quite good. There’s a little taster below but if you want to see the full set of 55 pictures that were my favourites from this year, … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Photography, Science & Art, travel
Comments Off on Photos of 2022
Intelligent life: Isaiah Berlin
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
Posted in philosophy, science, Science Culture
Comments Off on Intelligent life: Isaiah Berlin
Part-time talking
Things have come to a pretty pass when the UK can churn out Prime Ministers more frequently that I post to my blog. It might be taken as a sign of the times if the times weren’t so damned confusing. … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in science
Comments Off on Part-time talking
Passing the Baton
“The Queen is dead; long live the King!” is such a cliché of stories and films that it was surprising to hear it for real. Not that we did hear it for real. The secrecy surrounding the Queen’s final hours … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Scientific Life
Comments Off on Passing the Baton
A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment – the Decision
Reader, I bought a Brompton. After all my research – and a considerable amount of humming and haa-ing – I finally took Henry’s advice and went to my local bike shop to test-ride a couple of different eBike models. The … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Scientific Life, travel
Comments Off on A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment – the Decision
A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment
You’d think assessing bicycles would be a lot easier than assessing researchers, but I’m not so sure. Though I spend quite a bit of time as chair of the DORA steering committee pondering how best to evaluate research and researchers, … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in science
Comments Off on A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment
To the sea
With emails running alongside for the first part, barking for attention, we beat a retreat from London. The clamour of work was soon swamped by the heat and light and sights and sounds and smells of Barcelona, and by the … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Scientific Life, Spain, travel
Comments Off on To the sea
Message for my reader
For the longest time I have been meaning to get back to—ugh!—blogging. Regular readers, should any remain, will see that this is the first post of 2022. I haven’t broken any promises with the hiatus and have no excuses to … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Blogging
Comments Off on Message for my reader