Category Archives: CP Snow

How Much Does the Scientific Ecosystem Change over Time?

Posted on 26 January 2025 by Athene Donald

Desmond Bernal was an outstanding crystallographer. Not himself a Nobel Prize winner, he set the likes of Dorothy Hodgkin and Max Perutz on their own successful paths to that accolade. A Communist, he fell from grace during the 50’s and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in CP Snow, deficit model, Desmond Bernal, Interdisciplinary Science, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Sage, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, The Social Function of Science, Unconscious bias, Universities | Comments Off on How Much Does the Scientific Ecosystem Change over Time?

Another Year, Another Speech

Posted on 5 October 2019 by Athene Donald

Writing and delivering uplifting speeches comes with the territory of being the head of an Oxbridge College. Although my interview for the position at Churchill did not require a dry run of this, to check that I was capable of … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroness Brenda Hale, Christopher Frayling, CP Snow, education, Freshers, stereotyping | Comments Off on Another Year, Another Speech

Creativity Mustn’t be Allowed to be Hijacked

Posted on 20 January 2019 by Athene Donald

 ‘In 2019, the “two cultures” described by CP Snow in 1959 will have finally ceased to have meaning.’ So said Russell Foster in a recent article in Wired. Russell is clearly an optimist and I fear I do not share … Continue reading →

Posted in CP Snow, Russell Foster, science communication, Science Culture | Comments Off on Creativity Mustn’t be Allowed to be Hijacked

Compartmentalising our Passions

Posted on 13 September 2015 by Athene Donald

As scientists, many in the world believe we are reductionist, breaking everything down into component parts. For some humanities’ scholars this can be equated to the fact that we can’t possibly be creative or, in Thomas Carlyle’s words (in 1833), … Continue reading →

Posted in British Science Association, Communicating Science, CP Snow, Michael Berkeley, Music, Private Passions, Science Culture | Comments Off on Compartmentalising our Passions