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

On some women I happen to find inspirational….

Posted on July 30, 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 →

Posted in women | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Should we fund projects or people?

Posted on July 19, 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 →

Posted in UK Science policy | Tagged , | 36 Comments

The New College of Humanities; is this the future?

Posted on June 5, 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 higher education | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

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

Posted on May 22, 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 UK Science policy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

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

Posted on May 8, 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 →

Posted in random | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Some thoughts on science and paradigms

Posted on April 27, 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 | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The week Britain went crazy

Posted on March 28, 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 britain, science | Tagged , | 12 Comments

On human kindness, sickness and the NHS

Posted on March 6, 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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Somedays my brain just don’t work

Posted on February 24, 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 thinking | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Scientists need to ask ‘important’ questions – oh and stop “whingeing”

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Scientists need to ask ‘important’ questions – oh and stop “whingeing” Science question time on Feb 16th – put on by the Biochemical Society, CaSE (Campaign for Science and Engineering) and the good folks from Imperial College was, I thought, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Walport, Science Question Time, UK Science policy | Tagged , , | 21 Comments