Stardust dreams
We should aspire to go to the stars, even though they might remain forever beyond our reach. (abt. 900 words)
On the kindness of strangers
In a world of rapid change, we all have to rely on strangers to do the right thing. (380 words)
The Yowl! in the machine
Artificial Intelligence will never be enough. A true machine companion will also need empathy and compassion. (4700 words)
How much can we afford to forget, if we train machines to remember?
Without food we starve, without energy we huddle in the cold. And it is through widespread loss of memory that civilisations are at risk of falling into a looming dark age. (1400 words)
A scientist on walkabout
Marshall Islands, July 2016. (8000 words)
What We Lose When We Don’t Look At The Night Sky [Wisconsin Public Radio]
An interview with Rob Ferret of Wisconsin Public Radio. The stars, Polynesian voyaging, human exploration of the solar system. It’s all here. (12 mins. listening time)
The shape of things to come
Why did non-Euclidean geometry take so long to find its way into physics? (7700 words)
On The Vision Thing
Some thoughts on living through a disruption without losing your way. (2600 words)
On things that should never be forgotten
The eye can only reveal what the mind is prepared to see. (1470 words)
Beware the Orwellian Trap
In which I sidle up to the edge and take a peek down the climate conspiracy rabbit hole. (2800 words)
Bubble, bubble, is oil in trouble? The carbon bubble, Part 1
The stuff in the ground only has value today if investors believe it will be burned tomorrow. What happens if those beliefs start to change? (2500 words)
Gaia shrugged
Our experience of the weather is true, but our knowledge of the climate is objective. Why is that distinction so important? (1900 words)
