Think Like a Scientist
Planning for Future Crises: Governance Principles for Slow-Developing Risks That May Have Potentially Catastrophic Consequences
European Society for Risk Analysis 22nd Conference, Trondheim, June 17-19 (2013) (with Marie Valentine-Florin) Many of the serious problems that we face today follow a similar pattern, where the effects of slow, imperceptible change go unheeded until they bring us to...
Letter to “Nature”: “Scientific genius will continue to thrive”
Nature Vol. 494 (2013) 430 Dean Keith Simonton's contention that scientific genius is extinct (Nature 493, 602; 2013) invites comparison with Lord Kelvin's famous speech to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1900, in which he remarked, "There is...
Preparing for Future Catastrophes
International Risk Governance Council Report, February 2013 (http://www.irgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/CN_Prep.-for-Future-Catastrophes_final_11March13.pdf ) Executive Summary: Many of the serious problems that we face today follow a similar pattern, where the...
Risk Governance of Slowly-Developing Catastrophic Risks
European Society for Risk Analysis Annual Conference, ETH Zurich, 18-20 June (2012) (with Marie Valentine-Florin) Read the first public summary of my report "Preparing for Future Catastrophes" Preparing for Future Catastrophes International Risk Governance Council...
Talk: Humour In Science
Cambridge University Scientific Society 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...
Humour in Science
An "Ockham's Razor" talk delivered on April 1st, 2012 (for audio version check out http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/humour-in-science/3919798) I have twelve minutes to convince you that scientists have a sense of humour, and that humour is an...
International Research Governance Council
At an International Research Governance Council 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...
Letter to Guardian re “faster-then-light” neutrinos
Guardian, 26.11.11 A well-known scientist had suggested that he would eat his boxer shorts if this "discovery" turned out to be true (it didn't). In my letter I suggested how the shorts could best be cooked if they need to be eaten.
Book Review: Marten Scheffer “Critical Transitions in Nature and Society”
American Journal of Psychology Vol. 124, 365 – 366 (2011) Psychologists and sociologists have long been concerned with how human relationships and social institutions can suddenly collapse or otherwise "flip" from an apparently stable state to a completely different...
Game Theory in Real Life
Regensburg, Germany, 29–30 September 2011 Introductory Talk at Interdisciplinary Symposium “Ultimate and proximate determinants of aggression in man (and other primates)”
Review: Exciting Structures
Physics World (p. 38) A review of Mark Denny’s exciting new book Super Structures: The Science of Bridges, Buildings, Dams and Other Feats of Engineering. Download review (PDF)
Radio Interview: with Ira Flatow on Using Swarm Intelligence
National Public Radio "Science Friday" Interview with Ira Flatow on how we can use swarm intelligence to make better group decisions. Listen to podcast
Equations for Everyday Life
Cambridge University Scientific Society A decade ago I initiated what has become a rather regrettable trend when I demonstrated that a simple physical equation could be used to understand and optimize the process of biscuit dunking. The media were enraptured by the...
Radio Interview: The Perfect Swarm Interview
Groks Science Show Download and listen to a podcast of my interview on the Groks Science Show about the perfect swarm.
Radio Tour of America: January–February 2010
Hear and read about my interviews on how we can tackle the complex problems of everyday life: San Francisco CA: KVON Morning Edition National Public Radio: Hive Mind New York NY: WNYC Brian Lehrer Show Lifestyle Talk Radio (National) Frankie Boyer Show Columbia MO:...
Radio Interview: New York’s Brian Lehrer Show
As it happens, humans follow some of the same behaviour rules as ants and bees. Len Fisher, author The Perfect Swarm: The Science of Complexity in Everyday Life, discusses what swarms can teach us about parties, traffic and more. Hear Len's interview on New York's...
I’m an IgNobel Prize Winner: Get Me Out Of Here!
BBC Focus Magazine How would you use science to help you escape from a desert island? My solution, which began with using loose change to make a battery, was illustrator James Reekie’s personal favourite. If I were marooned with a group of others, I would set up a...
Conversations with Richard Fidler
ABC Radio, Australia A discussion on how scientists can make science more accessible and meaningful to people. Listen to podcast