Latest posts

What makes a dog tick? No pun intended…

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Steve Caplan

Having adopted Ginger as a 4 year old Vizsla-Labrador retriever mix less than a year ago from an animal rescue organization in Nebraska, I cannot even remember what life used to be like pre-arrival of my loyal retriever-pointer-and all around shadow. This is the second dog I’ve lived with, and while I loved her predecessor, he had a nasty tem Continue reading →

Posted in animal behavior, anxiety, canine, dog, dog sense, dogs, education, Ginger, jealousy, john bradshaw, labrador, pointer, Research, retriever, science, training, vizsla | Comments Off on What makes a dog tick? No pun intended…

Tsundoqueue

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Henry Gee

I have written in these annals about the phenomenon of tsundoku – and judging by the hits that post continues to receive, it’s a topic perennially resonant with readers. For the hard-of-linking, tsundoku may be defined as

tsundoku (n.) the act of buying books and not reading them and/or letting books pile up unread on shelves or floors Continue reading →

Posted in Annual Morston Book Sale, Books, Morston, reading, tsundoku, tsundoqueue, Writing, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Tsundoqueue

Get out of the laboratory

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Stephen

The Society for General Microbiology (SGM) kindly awarded me this year’s Peter Wildy Prize Lecture, which I delivered at their Spring meeting in Liverpool just a few weeks ago.

The prize is given for “an outstanding contribution to microbiology education and/or communication in order to stimulate interest and understanding in the subject”. It sound Continue reading →

Posted in communication, science communication, Scientific Life, SGM, Society for General Microbiology, YouTube | Comments Off on Get out of the laboratory

Do You Believe It’s All Your Fault?

Posted on 2 May 2014 by Athene Donald

Currently I spend far more time giving talks around gender issues than about my science. I don’t know what I feel about this. I am, after all, a physicist not a psychologist or social scientist but increasingly I seem to be treated as if I were a serious gender expert.  All I have to share is my experience: my experience both as a woman who h Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, career progression, Equality, MIT, Unconscious bias, Women in science | Comments Off on Do You Believe It’s All Your Fault?

Perfect Purple – or, how a prompt word (or two) can help

Posted on 2 May 2014 by Richard Wintle

Occam’s Typewriter is a humbling place, sometimes.

Surrounded by novelists, published authors of fiction, and those who write redoubtable, well-researched and thought-provoking editorial and opinion pieces, it’s a bit easy to be overwhelmed by that imposter syndrome that keeps rearing its ugly head. Why am I writing here, and how do I s Continue reading →

Posted in creativity, Hobbies, Photography, stock photography, Writing | Comments Off on Perfect Purple – or, how a prompt word (or two) can help

In which I grapple with my Inner Imposter

Posted on 1 May 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been thinking a lot about Imposter Syndrome this past week. It’s no surprise why: several funded positions have come up in the department recently, and the process of applying for science-related personal funding always brings out the worst feelings of inadequacy in me. All I have to do is read the ideal candidate description, with Continue reading →

Posted in careers, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science, Writing | Comments Off on In which I grapple with my Inner Imposter

Losing my virginity and the Café Scientifique Reading List

Posted on 30 April 2014 by Stephen

Last night I lost my virginity.

To be precise, I lost my Café Scientifique virginity because I gave a talk about science in a café in Portsmouth at the kind invitation of local organiser Maricar Jagger. It was a really good evening. I gave a short talk about my research and how I see my role as a scientist in modern Britain to a varied and interest Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Cafe Scientifique, communication, public engagements, science, science communication, Scientific Life | Comments Off on Losing my virginity and the Café Scientifique Reading List

The Night Circus

Posted on 29 April 2014 by Henry Gee

The Night Circus UKWhen Crox Minima (13) urged me to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which happened to be a favourite book of one of her classmates, I assumed that it would be the kind of book one would associate with, well, thirteen-year-old girls, and braced myself for gushing infusions of boy wizards and teenaged vampires.

That’ll teach me to unde Continue reading →

Posted in beatrix potter, china mieville, erin morgenstern, fantasy, magic, neil gaiman, steampunk, The Night Circus, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on The Night Circus

Yom HaShoah – A Guest Post by Crox Minor

Posted on 28 April 2014 by Henry Gee

As today is Yom HaShoah, I would like to ask everyone to think for a moment about prejudice, from the genocides that are still going on to casual remarks about immigrants and ethnic and religious minorities made daily by the public. I would like everybody to think about the prejudice in our own country, as seen in the EDL and the BNP, and in UKIP t Continue reading →

Posted in BNP, children of peace, crox minor, EDL, genocide, Holocaust, persecution, Politicrox, UKIP | Comments Off on Yom HaShoah – A Guest Post by Crox Minor

Spotting bad science – is it really so easy?

Posted on 27 April 2014 by Sylvia McLain

On the Interwebs – I have seen several links to this helpful PDF on How to spot bad science – a rough guide.

Learning how to sniff out bad science – or really bad science reporting which is what this guide seems to be aimed at – is important. As most folks know, after cold fusion and arsenic in DNA, spotting when there is Continue reading →

Posted in bad science, science communication, spotting bad science | Comments Off on Spotting bad science – is it really so easy?