by Len Fisher | 6 Sep 2016 | Mini Stories from Science, News
A great deal of nonsense is currently being spouted by people who believe that the days of unfettered “fundamental,” “pure,” “blue-sky” research are over – or, at least, that they ought to be, and that scientists should come out into the “real world,” whatever that... 
by Len Fisher | 17 Nov 2015 | News, Stray Thoughts
The Australian Government is seriously considering radical changes to research funding where the major criterion would be the potential applications of a project, rather than its scientific value and rigour. This crazy idea, so intuitively appealing to politicians,... 
by Len Fisher | 4 Nov 2015 | News, Stray Thoughts
Nov 4, 2015 Here is the text of an open letter (submitted to Sydney Morning Herald but unpublished) to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, drafted by me on behalf of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In a recent speech, Turnbull promised to “invest in... 
by Len Fisher | 14 Sep 2015 | Mini Stories from Science, News
Some late night reflections on what it feels like to be a scientist, broadcast on ABC Radio National in Australia on September 13th, and now available as a podcast at... by Len Fisher | 15 Jul 2015 | Mini Stories from Science
The remarkable experimental discovery that (in the quantum world at least) “future events can decide what happened in the past” (http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/experiment-shows-future-events-decide-what-happens-in-the-past/article/434829) has stimulated me to...