Category Archives: Science & Art

On the Freedom of Misunderstanding of Speech

Posted on 31 January 2024 by Stephen

“The Ruffian” is great title for Ian Leslie’s Substack given his predilection for roughing up lazy thinking. I first came across him as the author of “Conflicted”, an excellent book about how to disagree constructively, a practice he frequently deploys … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Equality Diversity & Inclusion, Science & Art, Science Culture, Scientific Life | Comments Off on On the Freedom of Misunderstanding of Speech

Photos of 2022

Posted on 28 December 2022 by Stephen

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

Science, art and Art

Posted on 18 March 2017 by Stephen

This past week I was fortunate once again to be invited to the award ceremony of the Wellcome Image Awards. Each time I go I tell myself I will submit an entry for the following year, but somehow I never … Continue reading →

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2016 in pictures

Posted on 31 December 2016 by Stephen

Rather than attempting to sum up the tumultuous year just past in words, let me simply share with you some of the photographs that I took in 2016. The image below is an embedded album from my Flickr account. I’m … Continue reading →

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Ways of Seeing

Posted on 9 October 2016 by Stephen

It is the weekend and I have been treating myself to some time with the paper. I usually buy the Saturday Guardian. Occasionally, I will also get The Observer on a Sunday but I don’t often have the time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilisation, Documentary, John Berger, Kenneth Clark, Science & Art, television, Ways of Seeing | Comments Off on Ways of Seeing

How to look at Art?

Posted on 30 May 2016 by Stephen

I was sneered at on Twitter yesterday for sneering at people taking pictures of the Impressionist paintings on display at the Musée D’Orsay in Paris. Fair enough perhaps. I had adopted an exaggerated version of the pontifical tone that comes … Continue reading →

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Henry Gee’s top ten reads of 2015

Posted on 2 January 2016 by Stephen

At the tail end of 2015 I reviewed the 23 books that had entertained and enlightened me over the course of the year. My friend Henry Gee, formerly of this parish, managed nearly twice that number. In a guest post full of his … Continue reading →

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Digital culture: my so-called week

Posted on 19 October 2014 by Stephen

My week, my cultural week, started last Sunday when I found time to complete my listening of Radio 4’s five-part series on Dorothy Hodgkin, an extraordinary scientist who was brought vividly to life through readings of her letters. Hearing the … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Science & Art, TV review | Comments Off on Digital culture: my so-called week

Impressions of Turner

Posted on 22 January 2014 by Stephen

I may not know much about art but I know what I like and I like the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner — all the more so now that I have seen the Turner and the Sea exhibition at the National Maritime … Continue reading →

Posted in art, Science & Art, the sea, turner | Comments Off on Impressions of Turner

Follower

Posted on 31 August 2013 by Stephen

This post has nothing to do with science. Seamus Heany is dead. I am only begining to process what that means to me. I claim no deep knowledge of his poetry but it has been with me for a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Art | Comments Off on Follower