According to excitable people in the know we are going to Mars. They're not sure when, no one is, but it is going to happen, has to happen. Sometime. In the not too distant future. The race is on. Almost. Seems pretty stupid if you ask me. No one is though so that's alright but … Continue reading RED VERSUS BLUE
About twenty five years ago I had an engineer friend called Robert The Cow who was really quite brilliant and expert at designing milking machines and ancillary equipment for the dairy industry. Robert came up with all sorts of very useful devices for popping tassels on udders but one day, for no particular reason, he … Continue reading DEAR HUMANS, YOUR SERVICES ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED
There has been growing speculation lately about the future potential of Artificial Intelligence. It seems some of our wealthiest thinkers and celebrity scientists are increasingly at odds over the evolutionary implications of the rise and rise of the machine mind. Some are convinced that in the not too distant future AI will be the salvation of … Continue reading I WOEBOT
It has been well documented that we gauge our own intelligence by the intelligence of our peer groups. You might well be under the impression that you are incredibly clever but that could simply be because those you associate with aren't. You might well be the smartest person you know, the smartest person in the room, but that … Continue reading AVERAGE, PENNILESS, MONOGAMOUS, MISANTHROPIST
What is more likely? That God made us in his image or that we made God in ours? My eldest son has finally given up his belief in Father Christmas. Last year we had to put the apostate in isolation in order to avoid the idea spreading to his younger brothers. What was doubt now … Continue reading THE GOD, THE CAT AND THE CURLY WURLY
What exactly is the fun part of getting old? When does it start? The fun. I keep hearing or reading about people who extol the depletion process. Celebrities often. Actors usually. They speak about finding themselves with age, about how they have reached a greater understanding of life, how they have learned to appreciate every … Continue reading THE SUN, THE PENDULUM AND THE ATOM
I have always maintained that the truth is what I say it is, even when writing twaddle, but not anymore, I daren’t. Now the truth is whatever the internet says it is. Apparently. The trouble with being a fabulist is that people might actually believe you, which is the opposite of the problem now suffered … Continue reading THE ADOLESCENT GOD AND THE INTERNEST OF VIPERS
The Earth is flat. I know this because I have stood on Brighton beach and held up a ruler to the horizon. Yup, flat as a pancake or maybe a pizza, one with melted feta and caramelised onions, case closed. The idea that the Earth is a ball spinning at 1000 miles per hour is … Continue reading THE CREDIBLE LIAR
On Tuesday just gone my Volvo’s plip failed and I couldn’t get into the car. I was temporarily insensible, flummoxed, stabbing the lifeless plip at the door, peering helplessly in through the side windows with thoughts of vehicular infidelity. I deserved better, a vehicle that welcomed my approach, one that would let me in. I … Continue reading MY WHOLE IS OTHER THAN THE SIM OF MY PARTS
Some scientists don’t seem to grasp how unlikely humanity is, they have been scouring the local universe for decades for any planet that just might conceivably support life and every time they think they’ve found one it is trumpeted in the media as being another potential Earth, one we can visit because it is only … Continue reading THE ACCIDENTAL HUMAN
THE ACCIDENTAL HUMAN 