A few months ago, Ed, a colleague of mine from Durham University, asked if I would chair a panel session on artificial intelligence and social sciences at Proto in Gateshead. These are not subjects that I had any real experience in though this has never stopped me before from having opinions nor contributing to a … Continue reading AI and social sciences
The average reading age is…?
The average reading age of the UK is 11. That’s what the speaker told us at the last Socitm meeting I attended. It struck me as an interesting statistic and possibly a damning indictment of our education system. Of course it may not be true and I felt I needed to explore it a bit … Continue reading The average reading age is…?
European Elections North East England
If you live in North East England and are pro European Union then you need to think about voting in the European Elections on 23 May. In these elections only parties can stand and there are only three that have an unequivocal position on the EU, ChangeUK, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. Labour … Continue reading European Elections North East England
Ethics? Whatever
If there was ever a fascinating subject to get your head around then ethics is it. Someone’s ethics are the moral principles that govern their behaviour or the way they conduct an activity. At its simplest, ethics is about doing or being right or wrong. People have argued about the subject for years and no … Continue reading Ethics? Whatever
A&E App
Matt Hancock, the Heath Secretary is proud of the NHS’s latest app. It is designed to help patients find the accident and emergency department with the shortest waiting time. He claims that the app will be’ good for patients, good for clinicians’. It won’t work for two reasons, firstly it is tackling the wrong problem … Continue reading A&E App
Teapot Lid
I can’t be an expert in everything. In fact I’m not sure I am an expert in anything other than perhaps helping people to take a step back from their issues and helping them to put forward a solution. At least that is what I like to do and I am convinced that people are … Continue reading Teapot Lid
Who are you going to vote for?
I’ve seen this a lot lately, especially on social media. With all the furore about a possible upcoming general or european election people are asking the question ‘Who are you going to vote for?’ Quite often this is done by a poll and, due to the limitations of the software, not all possible parties are … Continue reading Who are you going to vote for?
An act of God
I’m watching the news. There are pictures of flames licking the sky above Paris. The roof of Notre Dame is on fire with great swirling vortices, yellow and orange leaping from the building. On the television, what seems like a single stream of water pathetically tries to douse the flames and save this iconic French … Continue reading An act of God
By the Wear
An early warm spring day, a rare lunch, Sitting on a bench overlooking the river. People pass by. A young boy shouts out 'are you having a good time?' I hold my thumb up to him and he laughs with his friends. Somehow the food tastes nicer. A gull cries as the river curls in … Continue reading By the Wear
Indicative votes
I’m looking forward to Brexit the movie. It will either be a three part epic directed by Peter Jackson, showing the struggle of good against evil, or a never ending series on Netflix that eventually peters away as public interest drops off, perhaps a bit like Lost or Prison Break if you remember either of … Continue reading Indicative votes
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 