Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
Is it best to take notes by hand or electronically?
April 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
According to this article, a study suggests that students who use a laptop to take lecture notes do not learn as well as those who make handwritten notes. I’m not so sure about this. At every meeting, conference and lecture I attend, I take notes on my iPad. I believe that there are the following […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (6)
What can you expect at a Passover seder?
April 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I shall be attending a Passover seder at the invitation of dear Jewish friends, although I am not myself religious in any way. I have been to a seder before but it’s a struggle for a non-Jew to remember all the stages of the festival and what they symbolise. So what can I […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
It’s International Women’s Day
March 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
There are many forms of discrimination and many cases of inequality but, in the history of humankind, there is nothing that equals the scale and severity of discrimination against women and the inequality which women suffer. So today. International Women’s Day, I send my love to all the wonderful women in both my personal and […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
15 + 1 greetings from around the world
February 23rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
View Interactive Version (via Two Little Fleas). And an extra one from me: in Ethiopia, from where I have just returned, while still holding the right hand of your companion, you touch your right shoulder to your friend’s right shoulder three times.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
What is the only place name in Britain with an an exclamation mark?
February 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It is Westward Ho! and it is named after a novel by Charles Kingsley. You can learn more here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Why do so many more women than men believe in God and an afterlife?
January 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Professor David Voas seems wise indeed. The population studies expert has analysed responses to a survey of 9,000 British people and found a humongous gender gap in attitudes to God, religion and life after death. A chunky 54% of men say they are atheists or agnostics, while only 34% of women hold similar views. An […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Like foreign travel? Thinking of where to go in 2015? Here are 52 suggestions.
January 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Untrammeled oases beckon, once-avoided destinations become must-sees and familiar cities offer new reasons to visit. The “New York Times ” has compiled a list of 52 Places to Go In 2015. My home city of Manchester has secured a huge coup by being named one of the world’s top tourism destinations. It is the only British […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Why 2015 will be longer than 2014
January 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
No – it’s not a leap year. But this year is to last a second longer than 2014. The decision was made this week by the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS). A leap second is to be inserted at the very end of 30 June. Why? All is explained here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Want a New Year resolution? Try this one.
January 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“… resolve to cut everyone a massive amount of slack, including yourself. That’s the overarching conclusion of social psychology: we’re all staggeringly imperfect organisms, prone to making bad decisions when stress, busyness or poverty robs us of “cognitive bandwidth”. We habitually excuse our own bad behaviour as the result of special circumstances, while blaming others’ […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
100 things we didn’t know a year ago
January 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Interesting and unexpected facts can emerge from daily news stories and the BBC web site picks out such snippets for its weekly feature ’10 things we didn’t know last week’. You can find a compilation of 100 of the the best of 2014 here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)