Is it closer from Manors station to the Newcastle University buildings or is it closer from the Central Station? This may seem to be a strange question but has some relevance if you want to take a train from the Morpeth into the city. The answer seems obvious. The train stops at Manors before it … Continue reading Pesky intuitions
What does freedom mean?
This is another blog arising from the book ‘The world until yesterday’ by Jared Diamond. It is a great book and I would highly recommend that you read it if you have any interest in the development of humanity. Freedom is a subject that also interests me. It is a difficult concept to define. It … Continue reading What does freedom mean?
Low tech
One of my daughters bought me a Boogie Board for Christmas. It is a low tech device that looks quite high tech. About the size of a small tablet it allows you to write on it with the accompanying stylus. You can pretend it is like an iPad Mini. When you have finished, with the … Continue reading Low tech
Don’t blame the weather
You know, every day doesn’t go as planned. Today was one of them. I had hoped to get some things done and dusted and all I needed was for someone to sign something off for me. But it didn’t happen. There will be other days. You cannot control everything. Indeed you may not be able … Continue reading Don’t blame the weather
Yesterday’s world today
I have always been fascinated by man’s story as an animal. It is some time now since I read Zoology at Newcastle and I have not really done anything with the knowledge but the interest has remained with me ever since. I have often pondered on how much of what we do is driven by … Continue reading Yesterday’s world today
Don’t bark at passing cars
Don't bark at passing cars. Mark Mullen said this is in his opening speech at Thinking Digital this year. It made me think of Snoopy though I’m not sure he was a barker. The dog next door barks at anything, it is a Chihuahua and so perhaps its image should have popped into my head … Continue reading Don’t bark at passing cars
The machine that defines our age
We preside over a great machine. It is huge. A leviathan. It is the machine that is defining our age. Our machine doesn't have whirring cogs or spinning wheels, nor does it belch smoke or hiss with steam. Indeed most of its moving parts are people. Thousands of people, millions of people, use it every … Continue reading The machine that defines our age
Dealing with contradiction in leadership
People are contradictory. They say one thing and do another, they think they mean one thing when they really mean something else, they think they are being helpful as they cut you to the quick and their lips move while their bodies talk a different language. There is no use fighting it, that is the … Continue reading Dealing with contradiction in leadership
Evolving people
Early human remains have been discovered in Europe dating back to over seven million years. This may be stretching a point. They are the remains of an ape-like creature with human-like teeth found in both Bulgaria and Greece yet the inference is enormous. This discovery turns our current thinking of human evolution on its head. … Continue reading Evolving people
Elephants revisited
The only obvious elephant in the room was the one in the Dali picture, the one with the naked woman, tigers and a pomegranate (and an elephant). It is a picture that is filled with religious guilt, or am I just being pretentious? Our elephant is trust and it would seem we are well on … Continue reading Elephants revisited
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 