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Mathematics, Metaphors and Meanings
Browsing All Posts filed under »Science«
Instability: A Barrier to Fusion Energy?
Nuclear fusion — the physical process that powers the Sun — has massive implications for generating energy on Earth, yet not all of the fundamental physics needed for its practical realisation is well understood. Attempts to replicate fusion on Earth have been ongoing for over half a century, but doing so in a controlled fashion has proven more difficult than originally thought. […]
Uncovering the climate of the past in Greenland Part 2
Dr Eleanor Maddison a researcher on the Tipping Points project based at the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience investigates the climate of the past in Greenland by studying tiny insects known as non-biting midges that provide clues to what the climate was like thousands of years ago. This is Part 2 of an ongoing […]
Biodiversity Tipping Points
As part of the 2012 Tipping Points Conference held at Durham University, Prof Patricia Howard gives an inspiring keynote presenting the role of biodiversity in human societies. Howard explores the notion of ‘biodiversity tipping points within the context of indigenous communities and species focusing on where human culture and nature meet forming a unique ecological […]
Dr Nick Winder presents ‘The Colluphidean Paradigm’
July 11, 2012 by brettcherry
Dr Nick Winder gives a highly interesting talk on his paper ‘The Colluphidean Paradigm’. Who is Colluphid you might ask? For those familiar with A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams you likely know the answer already. Oolid Colluphid is a fictional author in the book who writes a philosophical trilogy: Where God […]
Blame Games: Scapegoats, Turncoats and Sacrificial Lambs
July 11, 2012 by flomate2001
In his speech at the Tipping Points Annual Event on 3rd July 2012 Professor Eric Abrahamson of the Columbia Business School talks about the many different ways in which blame is apportioned in the aftermath of catastrophic tipping point events such as the Global Financial Crisis. The research builds on the rich literature on theories […]
How surnames spread in the UK
Intuitively you might expect that in the modern mobile society of the UK your surname would tell you very little about where you hail from. Not so it would seem. At the Tipping Points conference Dr James Cheshire from UCL presented a fascinating paper on the spatial distribution of surnames. The fashion for inheritable surnames […]
Biodiversity: The co-evolutionary relationship between humans and nature
July 4, 2012 by brettcherry
Biodiversity is not only key to the survival of the human species, but the entire planet. It is known as one of the most important drivers of global environmental change. Anyone with appreciation for diversity of wildlife where they live for example understands the importance of biodiversity to non-human communities, but it is also essential […]
June 17, 2013 by IHRR
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