Upcoming Talks
Handling Complex Situations in Real Life
Heron Island Complex Systems Summer School, 16–27 January, 2012 (Heron Island, Queensland, Australia)
Humour In Science
Cambridge University Scientific Society, 1 May, 2012
A funny thing happened on the way to the lab...It would be more correct to say that a funny thing happened IN the lab, because jokes (practical and otherwise), facetious suggestions and general playfulness have been the catalysts for some surprising advances in science. Here I tell some of the stories, and also show how scientists have been able to make humour a major weapon in the quest to bring science to a wider public.
Previous Talks
Game Theory in Real Life
Introductory Talk at Interdisciplinary Symposium “Ultimate and proximate determinants of aggression in man (and other primates)” Regensburg, Germany, 29–30 September 2011
International Research Governance Council
At a meeting on “Slow moving risks with potentially catastrophic outcomes”, held in Venice from 26–28 August 2011, a group of senior politicians and scientists (myself among them) met to consider the advice that we could best offer governments for planning for and coping with this sort of risk, which encompasses food shortages, financial and social collapse, and natural disasters (including climate change). I am currently (December 2011) writing up the report from the meeting, which will be available shortly.
The Great Aussie Barbecue
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, Oxford U.K., 8–10 July, 20111
The Aussie barbecue is a unique celebratory institution. From humble beginnings, with meat cooked on a ploughshare over an outback campfire, or on a shovel in the firebox of a steam locomotive, the Aussie barbecue has now reached iconic status. It forms the focus of many of our national and personal celebrations. To give just one example, the 2009 award of “Australian of the Year” at the National Parliament House in Canberra on Australia Day was accompanied by a barbeque for some 650 invited VIPs where “chefs manned barbeques cooking Australian produce - beef, lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetables.” According to organizer Nicole Lieschke, the 2010 award ceremony followed a similar pattern, with 8 chefs manfully manning four giant barbecues. Even more impressively, the Queen was farewelled from her 2011 visit to Australia with a giant barbecue attended by over 100,000 people, where more than 600 volunteers cooked over 130,000 sausages, with celebrity chefs contributing their own barbecued dishes for the royal visitors...(full text will appear in the published proceedings).
www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk/the-symposium.html
Can We See the Future?
Early-Warning Signs for Critical Transitions in Nature and Society
Plenary Lecture, International Conference on Complex Systems, Boston U.S.
28
June 2011
Critical transitions occur when slow, sometimes imperceptible, changes in conditions bring a complex dynamical system to a point where runaway processes such as positive feedback take over from the negative feedback processes that have hitherto kept the system in check. Examples that have been cited include sudden shifts and collapse in ecosystems, financial market collapse, climate change, social collapse, and the outbreak of revolution or war. At an individual level, the onset of medical problems such as asthma or epileptic attacks, and even the breakdown of relationships, may also come into the same category. In this talk I describe how recent discoveries in ecology have revealed the existence of a generic set of early-warning signs that are common to a wide range of critical transitions in all areas of life. I explore how we may be able to use such warning signs to predict the imminence of such transitions and to help avoid them or ameliorate their effects. http://necsi.edu/wiki/index.php/Len_Fisher
The Great Aussie Barbecue
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, Oxford U.K, July 2011
Game Theory and the Problem of Peace
Invited seminar, University of Regensburg, Germany, September 2011
Fermented, cured and smoked: The science and savour of dry-fermented sausages
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, July 2010
 Equations for Everyday Life
Cambridge University Scientific Society, 5 May 2010
How equations for biscuit dunking make science more accessible, and why they media love them...
Opening the Door to Science
Monday, 30 November 2009,
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Sponsored by the Brisbane Writers’ Festival, this talk was audience-interactive and designed to encourage and show others how to make science more accessible.
Vegetable Acoustics and the Carrot Clarinet
Oxford, September 2008
A talk which I gave at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery (www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk/index.html), and which attracted some media attention. The talk was filmed and will form part of a forthcoming BBC4 TV series on the life and work of symposium founder Alan Davidson. An article featuring the talk (and the clarinet) subsequently appeared in the Financial Times on 17 January 2009.
Listening to Vegetables
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 13 September 2008
www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk/programme.html
In this talk I will explore the strange world of vegetable acoustics, from the sounds that tell us how fresh a vegetable is when we tap it to the use of vegetables as musical instruments.
All in the Best Possible Taste – A Talk with Tastings
A talk delivered to the local branch of the Society for Chemical Industry at the University of Cambridge, 15 May 2008
www.soci.org/SCI/sections/cam/2008/reports/html/gs3969.jsp
This entertaining lecture (which I am often asked to repeat at other venues) introduces some surprising facts about food and flavour, with the audience doing the testing.
On Becoming a Writer
A talk delivered to the CSIRO Retiree’s Club, Copacabana beach (NSW, Australia), 9 February 2008
Scientists and Food - Moral, Immoral or Amoral?
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, September 2007
www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk/programme.html
Has the application of science been good or bad for gastronomy?
Molecular Gastronomy – The Science of Good Eating
University of Singapore, August 2006
A highly successful talk for a general audience, comparing the science of cooking in East and West, with examples of dishes created by leading chefs in Singapore and London.
A Random Walk Through Science
University of Singapore, August 2006
What Does the Future Hold?
Griffin Pub, Frome, UK, July 2006
A debate with the Bishop of Bath and Wells about how science and society will develop in the future and whether society can continue to hold together without religion.
The Science of Toffee Apples
Royal Institution, London, 5 November 2005
A talk geared for families, with demonstrations and tastings, on the science behind the lowly toffee apple - not to mention the toffee-coated sausage and the toffee banana!
From the Secrets of Alchemy to Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs.
A talk delivered at the University of Bristol to the Local branch of the Society for Chemical Industry, October 2005
The Physics of Sex
University of Bristol, June 2005
A talk to visually impaired students on the physics problems that a sperm encounters on the way to the egg. My rather frank descriptions nearly landed me in trouble!
Kelvin, Boiled Eggs and the Story of Heat
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, May 2005 (a part of the Einstein Year series)
Faraday at the Royal Institution
Royal Institution, London, April 2005
Do Scientists Notice The Little Things of Life?
Queen's College, Cambridge, April 2005
A talk on what it is like to be in the public spotlight as a scientist and how to deal with it.
Weighing the Soul
DANA Centre, Science Museum, London, November 2004
Food for Thought
Broadmead Baptist Church, Bristol, Oct–Dec 2004
A series of four public talks (with demonstrations) on using science in the kitchen, (presented in collaboration with Dr Peter Barham).
Making Science Attractive
Scottish Education and teaching with Technology Conference, September 2004
A talk on ways in which science teaching can be made more interesting and relevant to students.
What Goes With What? How Food Flavours Affect Each Other
Badock Hall, University of Bristol, June 2004
How to Win an IgNobel Prize
UK Schools of Pharmacy Conference Dinner, April 2004
An after-dinner speech in a lighter vein.
Science at Sea
QE2 Cruise, 24 Feb – 8 Mar 2004
How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life
Millenium Lecture, University of Bath, Nov 2003
Scandalous Science
Chemistry School, University of Bristol, July 2003
A talk to post-graduate students in colloid science, based on my experience and dishing the dirt on what really goes on in the labs of famous scientists.
On Being a Science Writer
Keynsham, UK, June 2003
A talk to the Keynsham 41 Club, similar in format to Hay Festival Talk, but unfortunately not rewarded by a rose and a case of wine.
Weird Science
Cheltenham Science Festival, June 2003
On Being a Science Writer
Hay Literary Festival, May 2003
A talk following the publication of How to Dunk a Doughnut, in which I speculate on just what makes a science book successful.
Fat and Flavour (with Philadelphia chef Fritz Blank)
Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking, St Antony's College, Oxford, Sept 2002
Biscuits, Boomerangs and Best-Sellers – The Art of Media-Friendly Science
Café Scientifique, Nottingham, June 2002
Taste Interactions
Bath Wine Tasting Society, October 2000
A talk with tastings about the food, wine and the interaction of their flavours.
Molecular Gastronomy
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, USA, September 2000
The Science of Australia
London, July 2000
A talk to final year high school students aimed at enthusing them about science
Australia is the place where animals hop instead of walk, where weapons that are thrown come back, and where water is supposed to down the plug-hole the wrong way. In this talk I explore the physics behind these and other peculiarly Australian phenomena, with practical demonstrations of indoor boomerangs thrown in.
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