One of the most fiercely held beliefs of academics world wide is in academic freedom. So it seems utterly perverse for a union whose function is to represent academics to choose to boycott all academic links with an entire country. That’s what the UCU have done. I wrote briefly about this before, and the position… Continue reading Academic Boycott
I knew this blogging lark would make me rich. By putting a link to Amazon here, I’ve already amassed, in just over a year, £1.60 in referral fees. That’s right – over ten pence a month! The thing is, once you are used to riches of this magnitude, you just want more, so I’ve signed… Continue reading Amazon links
Harriet has tagged me, and since Harriet is She Who Must Be Obeyed, I obey. I have to write eight random things about me. That’s easy enough, but I’m not one for being personal in public, so to speak. I was involved in a departmental team-building exercise recently, and one of the tasks was to… Continue reading Tagged
This is a really funny, but also profound piece of thinking that makes some crucial points about the nature of education and creativity.
This is fascinating. Dan Gilbert is a Harvard psychiatrist who has researched into how we synthesize happiness. This talk, about 20 minutes long, gives details of his work. He’s an excellent, lively speaker. Thanks to Bibliobibuli for the tip.
More evidence of the power of the veg…
Mars has done a swift U-turn. Well done the Veggie Soc. I’m still boycotting them though, as they haven’t removed the calories.
This is, as the Veggie Soc says, “incomprehensible”. It does mean, though, that I won’t be tempted to have a Twix with my morning coffee, so thanks Mars for helping my weight loss drive.
Over at Patternings, Ann Darnton points out how her reading of Chesil Beach was spoilt by Ian McEwan’s failure to get a contemporary detail right – he has his protagonist playing Beatles and Rolling Stones covers of Chuck Berry before they were recorded. On one level it’s a minor detail, but on another, as Ann… Continue reading Oh for an editor
I can’t see my English colleagues doing this somehow… These guys from Manchester’s Geography Dept performed for their Christmas do. I wonder what would be appropriate for other departments?