Image thanks to litfl.com This time of year is a good point at which to reflect and the older I get the more I realize that I, along with everyone else, have been fed a narrative of misinformation, half-truths and downright lies. It certainly happened at school and it may have started with my parents … Continue reading Un-learning
Wot no aliens?
For millennia, mankind has stared to the heavens and wondered. It has thought about what it all means, how it works, what forces control it and our place within it. More recently we have asked the most profound question, are we alone? Is the Earth the only planet that sustains life or are we a … Continue reading Wot no aliens?
Seems fair
Image thanks to Politico A system seems fair when you win. We can’t help it. When the system works for you, you are very unlikely to want to change it. If you are in the Premier League, it doesn't matter to you that the enormous amounts of money involved are having a markedly negative effect … Continue reading Seems fair
Getting sentimental
Image thanks to Lancashire Evening Post ‘We can't get sentimental over these things,’ said Alex Baldcock, CEO of Dixons Carphone. He was being interviewed about the move of retailing business away from the high street to online trading. His own company has seen a spectacular online growth and the interview was on the same day … Continue reading Getting sentimental
That virus
Imahge thanks to biospace No, not that virus. I’m not talking about the one that has swept across the globe in 2020, the teaspoon of complex proteins that has turned our world upside down, the one that means this year doesn’t look much better. No, I mean another virus. This one has been around a … Continue reading That virus
The grey bin
Image thansk to Newcastle City Council A couple of years ago I blogged about our blue bin, the one where we put our recyclable waste. At the time I noticed that it was full, a rare occurrence and, I am ashamed to say, one that happens mostly after the orgy of purchasing that is a … Continue reading The grey bin
Going for growth
Image thanks to doc reseacrh group Anyone who thinks you can have infinite growth on a finite planet is either a madman or an economist - David Attenborough. The problem with using GDP as a measure of the human condition is that it will ultimately fail. The prospect of keeping growth going to satisfy an … Continue reading Going for growth
Free speech (again)
Image thanks to TheAtlantic.com Trump has been banned from Twitter and Parler has been taken offline. Proponents of so-called free speech cry foul and all the old arguments about the role of social media companies and the media in general have come to the fore again. Yet over the last few days we have seen … Continue reading Free speech (again)
Guilty interest
Image thanks to LendWithCare.org I feel fortunate, at my time of life, to have some money in the bank. I feel that I have earned it and it is a welcome cushion against a very uncertain future. Every so often, though it has not been much of late, I get paid interest. It is paid … Continue reading Guilty interest
Dying of boredom
Image thanks to Columbia University I feel lucky in that I am rarely bored. Yes, I end up doing boring things from time to time yet there is so much else to be getting on with that it is easy for me to switch my mind to something more entertaining or challenging. Boredom can be … Continue reading Dying of boredom
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 