Author Archives: Sylvia McLain

About Sylvia McLain

Girl, Interrupting aka Dr. Sylvia McLain used to be an academic, but now is trying to figure out what's next. She is also a proto-science writer, armchair philosopher, amateur plumber and wanna-be film-critic. You can follow her on Twitter @DrSylviaMcLain and Instagram @sylviaellenmclain

Waste not, want not [10]

Posted on 25 August 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Discussion of ‘waste’ in both higher education and scientific research seems to keep popping up in my life. Both in Science Question Time (from August 24th) and in some comments here on Occam’s Typewriter posts by both Jenny Rohn and … Continue reading →

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On some women I happen to find inspirational…. [6]

Posted on 30 July 2011 by Sylvia McLain

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent Eleanor Roosevelt I, like many others, think Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the premier inspirational women. She was an amazing lady, the first First Lady who actually did something with … Continue reading →

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Should we fund projects or people?

Posted on 19 July 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Its a question put out there by Times Correspondent Hannah Devlin on Twitter. I think the answer is a resounding, projects, projects can I say it again projects. Idealistically it is certainly true you should fund the best people: I … Continue reading →

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The New College of Humanities; is this the future?

Posted on 5 June 2011 by Sylvia McLain

This morning I read about The New College of Humanities (NCH) ; or rather before I read about the New College of the Humanities, I read alot of RTs on Twitter about the BBC article on New College of the … Continue reading →

Posted in HEFCE, higher education, Mary Beard, New College of Humanities | Comments Off on The New College of Humanities; is this the future?

Death by a thousand cuts: is it time for a change?

Posted on 22 May 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Just in case I wasn’t paying enough attention to the news or even Twitter, last week I got an email from the EPSRC saying.. As a result of the 50% reduction to the Research Councils capital budget, EPSRC has taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Funding, Science policy, UK Science policy | Comments Off on Death by a thousand cuts: is it time for a change?

Worms, worms, worms – how to treat your compost…

Posted on 8 May 2011 by Sylvia McLain

On averting a compost disaster I think everyone should have a wormery but that is probably just because I own one. Its great for compost and easy to use even if you don’t have a garden you can compost away … Continue reading →

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Some thoughts on science and paradigms

Posted on 27 April 2011 by Sylvia McLain

A while back I wrote a post about active vs. passive voice – which isn’t the most exciting topic on the surface, admittedly, but the comments and some of the Twitter conversations I had about this were. Part of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Science, Thomas Kuhn | Comments Off on Some thoughts on science and paradigms

The week Britain went crazy

Posted on 28 March 2011 by Sylvia McLain

I think Britain has gone mad – It used to be Keep Calm and Carry On in the face of a crisis- now its more like Run Around, Panic and come up with wacky ideas. Maybe the whole world has … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Society, Britain, science, Startup Britain | Comments Off on The week Britain went crazy

On human kindness, sickness and the NHS

Posted on 6 March 2011 by Sylvia McLain

It’s easy to feel cynical about the world, especially at the moment; but this week I am amazed at the acts of human kindness in this world. One of my in-laws suffered a stroke or rather a sub-arachnoidal hemorrhage late … Continue reading →

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Somedays my brain just don’t work

Posted on 24 February 2011 by Sylvia McLain

My amusing friends might say “most days” or “did it ever” Sometimes its easy to forget that thinking is actually hard work, thinking is hard, hard thinking is hard and it can be exhausting. As scientists, we are ideally trained … Continue reading →

Posted in critical thinking, thinking | Comments Off on Somedays my brain just don’t work