I don’t wish to invoke the memories of Primo Levi, a survivor of Auschwitz, in anything as banal as my blog yet this is how I feel about the plight of humanity sometimes. We are caught in a bind, trapped between the amazing, exciting world ahead of us and the very real threat of extinction … Continue reading The Drowned and the Saved
Swarm!
Sabine Hauert is a swarm engineer. She is also a lecturer in robotics at Bristol University and spends a lot of her time designing swarming nanobots for biomed applications. I heard her give a fascinating presentation at Thinking Digital this year, another one to add to the ever growing list of reasons to have gone … Continue reading Swarm!
Young people trapped in small towns
The headline in the Big Issue (issue #1362) said that spiraling rents are forcing young people to stay in small towns instead of moving to cities with better jobs. This follows some research by the Resolution Foundation. The implication is clear, small towns are bad for young people. They do not offer them the range … Continue reading Young people trapped in small towns
Dynamo on the Wear
This was my sixth Dynamo North East conference. There have only been six and so I have a 100% attendance record. All of them have been good, most of them have been great but this one was exceptional. Why? I have been asking myself that very question. Firstly, the venue was great. Sunderland University’s campus … Continue reading Dynamo on the Wear
Pants on fire
In a now famous broadcasting moment, Rory Stewart, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live about Brexit, when he made the claim that ‘80 percent of the British public support this [withdrawal agreement] deal.’ Thankfully the presenter, Emma Barnett was quick to question him where this … Continue reading Pants on fire
Humans discover fire
What’s this, another blog from Thinking Digital 2019? Yes, my fourth from this year’s event. I am sure I will squeeze one or two more. The thing is that there is so much to cover. It would be easy to write about what the speakers are saying but I find it more interesting to blog … Continue reading Humans discover fire
Implementing technology is easy
The solution to problems may be quite simple. Seeing the results however, may take a lot more effort. In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweiss discovered that if doctors washed their hands before attending women in childbirth it dramatically reduced deaths from puerperal fever. But before his work could have much benefit he had to persuade people - … Continue reading Implementing technology is easy
Understanding poetry
I never know if I understand poetry but that is a silly thing to say. Does it really matter? It is just the same as when I am reading a book. Sometimes I understand the twists and turns of the plot, the interrelations of the characters and the underlying story that the author is trying … Continue reading Understanding poetry
Buy a newspaper
I’ve done something I haven’t done for a long time. I’ve bought a newspaper. It must be fifteen years or so since I last bought one and this was around the time when online news was starting to take off seriously. This isn’t the reason I stopped however. I had been reading a copy of … Continue reading Buy a newspaper
NoT Clear
At the start of the year, like most of us, I made some resolutions. I even wrote them down to give them a little more impetus. It’s hard to deny something once it is in writing. One of them was to ‘Become a little more politically active, how I am not yet sure.’ I can … Continue reading NoT Clear
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 