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 A Random Walk Through Science
University of Singapore, August 2006
A talk to first-year students at the beginning of their scientific careers
What is science about? What do scientists do? Dr Len Fisher takes us on a tour that encompasses biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics, showing how these sciences have evolved through a series of backwards, forwards and sideways steps (often involving treading on other scientists’ toes), and how they are continuing to do so in the present day. On the way we encounter Galileo’s calculation of the dimensions of Hell, a doctor who tried to weigh the Soul, the strange case of the racing amoebae, the not-so-selfish gene and the Restaurant at the end of the Universe. There is even practical advice on how to remove a damaged screw from a wall and how to add up your supermarket bill.
 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
Kelvin, Boiled Eggs and the Story of Heat
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, May 2005
(a part of the Einstein Year series)
This is Einstein year, and the story of heat sounds pretty boring compared to Einstein's dramatic discoveries like the theory of relativity or quantum mechanics. You might be surprised to know that Einstein wouldn't have had a chance of making those discoveries if Kelvin and others before him hadn't asked themselves the question “What is heat exactly?" It's quite a dramatic story, with people being chased from continent to continent, having their honeymoons ruined, and in one case literally losing their head. It told us that the Sun and the Universe will eventually die, it nearly put an end to Darwinism, and even let us calculate how long to boil an egg, but I'll come to that at the end.
Faraday at the Royal Institution
Royal Institution, London, April 2005
I have to say that it is a rather awesome experience to be standing in the place where Michael Faraday once stood. Faraday is famous for having discovered how to manufacture electricity. My main claim to fame is having discovered the best way to dunk a biscuit. What I do have in common with Faraday is that I have devoted my life to science (not all of it concerned with biscuits) and that I now spend a lot of my time trying to share what science is about and making it accessible to others.
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.
Weird Science
Cheltenham Science Festival, June 2003
A quiz presented with mathematician Rob Eastaway on counter-intuitive science, with the audience challenged to guess the correct answers to questions such as:
What is the best treatment for a red wine stain on a carpet?
- salt
- water
- white wine
- give up and buy another carpet
How many dates with different partners should you have before you commit yourself to the next really attractive one?
- One
- About a third as many as the total number of dates that you might expect to have if you never get serious
- Ten
- As many as possible
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