The superphone

Something isn't right. Our laboratory facilities contain a couple of Faraday-shielded rooms. The idea is that electromagnetic radiation can't get in (or, for that matter, out). That means mobile phones shouldn't work in there. And they don't. Mine has no reception at all – others in our research group report either no reception or 'one-bar' […]

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Thermodynamics of learning

Last week I attended a conference on Emergent Learning and Threshold Concepts, here at the University of Waikato. It was a very interesting couple of days. As far as academic conferences go, it was unusual in that it was really cross-disciplinary. We had engineers mixing with physiotherapists, and management consultants with dancers. It certainly was […]

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Who is doing the observing?

Last week I watched again the highly amusing film "Kitchen Stories". It's hardly a mainstream affair – in fact I feel like editing Wikipedia's meagre entry on it. The scenario is amusing because it's so ridiculous – a group of Swedish scientists is sent off to Norway to observe single men use their kitchens, in […]

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