Marie Tharp and the mid-Atlantic rift; a prelude to plate tectonics
The history of science is littered with the misplaced contributions by women, contributions that at best were pushed aside or […]
Digressions
Crème brûlée, jelly sandwich, and banana split; the manger a trois of layered earth models
Some things in science are just too difficult to comprehend: the temperature at the center of the sun (15,000,000oC), the
A chance encounter with James Ussher, circa 1650
A chance encounter of a different kind. The 9th century Book of Kells is exhibited in the Trinity College library
In the field: from one extreme to another
Have you ever looked at some locale on a map or photograph and thought “that looks like an intriguing place
In the field: Beaches, sand dunes, and shellfish for lunch
Final exams over, a moment of tomfoolery, and I found myself disconsolate in a hospital bed, recovering from an operation
A Murex tattoo
The Saturday Evening Post, March 4, 1944, featured on its cover the iconic Norman Rockwell portrait of The Tattoo Artist.
Hold a ‘0’ to the light and look through it – there is nothing, and everything
Several years ago I read Jerry P. King’s The Art of Mathematics (1992). Chapter 3 deals with Numbers, and in
In praise of field work
The class field trip is underway. Teacher hands out the rap-around, virtual imaging glasses, and you are transported to a
Beringer’s Lying Stones; fraud and absurdity in science
A tale of scientific fraud and personal hubris My second-year university Geology wasn’t particularly notable except for a bit of
Stabilisation of an architectural icon; the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Sunday in Pisa proved to be a welcome change from the usual tourist-cramped, shoulder-barging throngs of popular attractions in Tuscany.