Category Archives: Science culture

A year of inaction: why has the Royal Society allowed itself to be hollowed out by Elon Musk?

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Stephen

Today, one year has passed since I published an open letter, signed by almost 3,500 members of the scientific community, asking the Royal Society to deal meaningfully with breaches of its code of conduct by Elon Musk FRS. Twelve months … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics, Science culture | 2 Comments

On the Freedom of Misunderstanding of Speech

Posted on January 31, 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 →

Posted in Equality Diversity & Inclusion, Science & Art, Science culture, Scientific Life | 4 Comments

Intelligent life: Isaiah Berlin

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Stephen

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 →

Posted in Philosophy, Science, Science culture | Comments Off on Intelligent life: Isaiah Berlin