Retired scientist, I read a lot, fiction and non-fiction, on a wide range of subjects, though science, politics, philosophy, law, science fiction and historical detective stories are favourites.
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Be careful what you wish for...Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named …
'So a thousand heroes have stolen fire from the gods...' I suspect this is a reference to The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths - and new ways of looking at them are a common Pratchett theme
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
Attila, explaining to Jean why her attempt to bring a scientific viewpoint to the subject of urban foxes had not gone well, in comparison to the simplistic solution proposed by the Mayor - based around the three words Urban, Disease, Destruction. 'The trick of politicians is to know what those are and appear to be addressing the concerns they raise, if only by making sure they repeat them often engough. The public likes to be indulged, and there are those happy to do so in the interests of their career or ambitions. But you would not indulge the listeners of the radio show. You spoke plainly, it is your job as scientist to deal with facts and it is also your nature. You treated the listeners like adults.' This reminded me of Transactional Analysis. The politician speaks in a comforting Parent-Child mode, but Jean tries to speak adult-adults, which …
Attila, explaining to Jean why her attempt to bring a scientific viewpoint to the subject of urban foxes had not gone well, in comparison to the simplistic solution proposed by the Mayor - based around the three words Urban, Disease, Destruction. 'The trick of politicians is to know what those are and appear to be addressing the concerns they raise, if only by making sure they repeat them often engough. The public likes to be indulged, and there are those happy to do so in the interests of their career or ambitions. But you would not indulge the listeners of the radio show. You spoke plainly, it is your job as scientist to deal with facts and it is also your nature. You treated the listeners like adults.' This reminded me of Transactional Analysis. The politician speaks in a comforting Parent-Child mode, but Jean tries to speak adult-adults, which is rejected.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
Jean wonders what causes humans to want to form relationships with wild animals. I suspect this is the same ancestral drive that led to domestication of wolves into dogs, the taming of wild horses and cattle and the evolution from hunter/gatherers to farmers.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
In discussing whether trauma might not always result in permanent negative effects Attila is describing the possibility of Survivorship bias
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
My daughter, when she was a child, collected those, this is one she gave me. I keep it because she gave it to me and because it reminds me of what I do. This is how most people want to live They want to be safe, they want to be comfortable. They want to believe that they are in control of their lives and they want that thing that we call freedom. It comes at a price, but don't you dare mention that. People want choices without consequences. And we give it to them, fools that we are. We are the "somebody" people who have no bloody intention of doing anything mean when they say that somebody must do something. I blame books, films, all that nonsense. There's always a bloody hero who makes it all good. At least in Shakespeare the whole lot die in the end. Lear is great for that. It's the reward you get for suffering through it. That's why there is always so much applause.
Quell
— Happiness by Aminatta Forna (Page 206 - 207)
Quell had spent his career as a crisis negotiator.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
Paraphrasing Attila - In Government they are taught to treat the electorate like six year olds. If you ask them a question on any subject most of them can only come up with 3 words we identify with that thing. The words depend on what our concerns are or what the newspapers tell us our concerns are.
I believe social media is replacing newspapers as the main source. News consumption in the UK: 2024
This is a risk as it is less trustworthy - due to having fewer checks and reduced traceability.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
In Attila's view free will was a circus horse you had to stay astride, it took every every muscle in your body and every moment of your concentration.
it was interesting to encounter, in a book with themes, amongst others, of migration both for people and for foxes, coyotes and wolves - a connection to Determined which also shows the deep connections between humans and other animals.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
Expert witnesses duty is to the court, rather than whichever side pays them, and their payment can not be contingent on supporting a particular position
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
Atilla's description of the widespread potential for evil behaviour reminded me of Corruptible, and it's discussion of the exercise of power.
A fox makes its way across London's Waterloo Bridge. The distraction causes two pedestrians to …
You know, a lot of people nowadays believe they're owed a happy ending. Attila Asare
— Happiness by Aminatta Forna (Page 39)
I inherited my copy from my father, who received it as part of the Sir Alfred Lewis Prize in 1952
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Polish: Prowadź swój pług przez kości …
Content warning Giving away who did it.
Reminded me, in some respects of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, so the ending was not a surprise. While not a surprise ending, Kind Hearts and Coronets is a memorable film and strikes a chord.
January 1954. Mists cover the hills around Selchester. Someone at the research facility known as …
I suspect the Tony Harker mentioned in the acknowledgements is the same one I knew in Theoretical Physics at Harwell in the UKAEA days.
Excellent Women, the second published novel by Barbara Pym, first appeared from Jonathan Cape in …
The Excellent Women are those - in this context - who quietly get on, in a volunteer capacity, with the myriad of small jobs needed to keep an organisation like a church running. In the 1950s these would have been almost entirely women - but also those who were not unable to perform this role due to needs of employment or domestic duties.
December 1953
Hugo Hawksworth is on the tail of rogue Cold War agents at a …
I’ve been looking at the portraits in the gallery, all those ancestors. I suppose everyone has exactly the same number of ancestors as everyone else, but most people don’t have so many of them hanging on the wall.
— A Question of Inheritance by Elizabeth Edmondson (A Very English Mystery, #2) (Page 187)
This is another way of looking at Tennyson's Lady Clara Vere de Vere The Ggand old gardener and his wife, Smile at the claims of long descent.
