Archive for the ‘Science & technology’ Category
So, just how important are our friends?
March 7th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
“Building your life around close friendships rather than family or romance is a joyous and necessary act of rebellion, and governments should put in place ‘friendship ministries’ to radically rethink the way society is organised, a key French philosopher has argued. Geoffroy de Lagasnerie this week publishes a manifesto for friendship, ‘3 Une Aspiration au […]
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)
A review of “The Joy Of Science” by Jim Al-Khalili
February 13th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Jameel “Jim” Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-British scientist who is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. He is well-known for his writing and broadcasting in which he explains difficult concepts in an accessible manner. This short and simple book contains little new to anyone who […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
An interesting scientific question for you
February 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
If you were able to fly at the speed of light while holding a mirror in front of your face, would you see your own reflection? The answer is: yes – because the speed of light in a vacuum is a fundamental constant of nature. This question and answer comes from “The Joy Of Science” […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Are we inching closer to a cure for dementia?
November 22nd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
This article offers some hope on the intractable and growing problem of dementia. For almost five years, I have been a participant in a long-term health study with the acronym CHARIOT PRO which has been studying the possible connection between dementia and a protein in the brain called beta amyloid. That study is about to […]
Posted in My life & thoughts, Science & technology | Comments (3)
Like movies? Interested in aviation? I have just the films for you.
July 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
There are many hundreds for film reviews on my website. But, as someone who is a massive movie fan and has a lifelong passion for aircraft, I have a special section with reviews of 68 aviation films. Check them out here.
Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)
The grim record of covid deaths in the United States
December 15th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
The US death toll from Covid-19 has passed 800,000, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after vaccines became available last spring. The figure represents the highest reported toll of any country in the world and is likely to be even higher. The US accounts […]
Posted in American current affairs, Science & technology | Comments (0)
How did Covid variants go from Delta to Omnicon?
November 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
At the end of May 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted a new system of naming Covid variants of concern or special interest with letters of the Greek alphabet. It did this to avoid stigmatising countries or regions where such a new variant was first identified. At the time, there were four variants of […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
I bet you’ve never visited a materials testing house
November 7th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
It’s a (very) little known fact that, when I left school in Manchester, I thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. Indeed I obtained a place on a university degree course to study mechanical engineering, but deferred my entry by a year to go into industry for some practical training. I learned very quickly […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
How did Bletchley Park break Nazi Germany’s Enigma code?
November 6th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’ve read the novel “Enigma” written by Robert Harris [my review here]; I’ve seen the film directed by Michael Apsted [my review here]; and this weekend, I visited Bletchley Park where a British team built on the work of Poles to break the Enigma code used by the German army, navy and air force during […]
Posted in History, Science & technology | Comments (0)
When and how did the Internet start?
October 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
International Internet Day is marked annually on 29 October. The day commemorates the anniversary of the first message that was sent between two computers on 29 October 1969 through ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet. They intended to transmit the word “LOGIN,” but the system crashed just after they had sent the first two letters. Hence, […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)