In my crabbier moments I might use such a headline as an excuse to whinge about the current Brian Cox – award-winning megastar pop-science television presenter. But not right now, for I have a comment to make which follows from an article (or rather a few articles) in the latest issue of the journal Communicating […]
Read MoreIf it wasn’t dear old Queen Brenda herself, an individual or persons unknown has donated £4.4m to the Royal Institution of Great Britain. The Ri is a scientific education, outreach and research charity that has long being living beyond its means, and was looking to raise up to £60m from the sale of its swanky […]
Read MoreTelevision producers have an evident bias for young and beautiful presenters for science documentary programmes, and especially comely and exuberant females, preferably with PhDs. I’ve often wondered what effect this has on young people considering science as a career path. The thinking is that celebrity science babes should inspire the young, caught up as the […]
Read MoreI have just returned from a visit to the Scottish Marine Institute near Oban on the west coast of Scotland. Among the matters discussed was whether scientific research institutes such as the SMI should use social media to get their message across. This blog post contains my initial thoughts on the matter, and its content […]
Read MoreIn PSCI-COM, an email-based discussion forum for science communication specialists, a question was asked recently about the use of Twitter by science communicators. The original questioner was looking to compile a list of key people who make use of the micro-blogging facility which is apparently all the rage on the Interwebs. With a single provocative […]
Read MoreThis is just to say that I’m impressed with the series of three popular astronomy programmes broadcast this week by the BBC. When human populations are increasingly concentrated in urban areas, with artificial light polluting the night sky as well as doing its intended job, it is a challenge to get people interested in stargazing. […]
Read MoreWith wall-to-wall particle physics and gargantuan machines, physicist Brian Cox arguing half-convincingly that the LHC is worth its multi-billion euro cost, and former UK government science adviser and friend of the badger David King calling none too coherently for more focus on science that matters, the most interesting science-related story to my mind yesterday concerned […]
Read MoreA few weeks ago, in one of my less crabby but not entirely magnanimous moments, I referred to an article by science teacher and filmmaker Alom Shaha published published in a glossy magazine aimed at science communication professionals. In that blog post I promised to return to the issue, and discuss other articles from the […]
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