Brian Clegg's Blog, page 104

Educational good news

Approaching the town hallThis is a time of year that is associated with good news, so it is great to be able to bring some good educational news when we are always hearing bad things about schools, universities and Michael Gove. Just over a week ago, though it seems a lot longer thanks to Christmas, I was at Rochdale Sixth Form College's awards ceremony.

Located in the imposing Victorian gothic grand hall of the Town Hall, the event was a celebration of the year's leavers' achievements, the majority now at university, and it turned out to be one of my favourite events of the year. My role was to give a motivational speech and to hand out around 200 certificates, accompanied with the obligatory smile and photo - which sounds like a very repetitious task, but saying hello to all the different students made it surprisingly enjoyable.

With RSFC student of the year
Rhiann CanavanThe reason I say it was good educational news was down to the remarkable achievements that the staff and students have made. Four years ago, RSFC was just a construction site, located in a borough that was one of the worst in the country for sixth form achievement. But in its short life, RSFC has become one of the few sixth form colleges to get an outstanding Ofsted and is rated one of the top colleges in the country.

There are times when it is difficult to be proud to come from Rochdale - but this was definitely one where my home town deserves a few accolades.

Here's to a great 2014 for all of us, but especially for Rochdale Sixth Form College and its leavers, who I had the pleasure to meet a few days ago.

Read more about the college in this article from the Independent.

It doesn't need saving

The graphic that made me grumpyWhen I made the remark online 'I sometimes feel that the period between Christmas and New Year is what being retired would be like, but with more tinsel', someone kindly pointed me to the Twixtmas website. The website itself is excellent, promoting the idea of doing something worthwhile with those days - but there was graphic on it that made me slightly grumpy (rare though I know this is).

I've said it before and I will say it again, because it needs repeating. We do not need to do anything to preserve the earth. It is utterly pointless trying to 'save the earth.' I don't say this because I am full of doom and gloom, but because given a few million years (a teeny snippet of time in the Earth's lifetime) our planet can shrug off any environmental messing up we can manage. The earth does not need saving, we do.

Unlike the earth, we need very narrowly fixed environmental conditions to survive comfortably - conditions, incidentally that have been decidedly uncommon in the earth's history and probably will be in the future unless we intervene appropriately. All the 'saving the planet' guff, should really be about saving humanity. And because it is the earth's nature not to spend a huge amount of time in the goldilocks zone where we are comfortable, the chances are that saving humanity is going to involve interfering with nature on a large scale, which is decidedly scary.

I am not saying we shouldn't try to minimise future climate change, because we should. We probably did need some global warming to avoid going back into an ice age (we are currently in an interglacial), but we've had more than enough to do that, and now we need to stop quickly to avoid going too far the other way. But it's certainly not as simple as being green and returning to nature.

So there we have it. Do something great with the period between Christmas and the New Year (I can't bring myself to call it Twixtmas), but don't attempt to preserve the earth. It will just end in tears.

This has been a Green Heretic production

Simply

Wishing you a happy Christmas and an exciting and inspiring New Year.

Diamonds are so last century

Most simple inorganic compounds - think sodium chloride, for instance - are amongst the more familiar substances. But boron nitride, just boron and nitrogen is something most of us have never heard of. Which is amazing when you consider how remarkable it is. Because its electronic structure is similar to carbon it can take all the forms that carbon does, from an equivalent of the wonder material graphene to a diamond substitute - and often it does the job better than the original.

So prepare to get all abrasive as you hurry over to the RSC compounds site to see more on this useful inorganic compound. If you'd like to listen straight away, just click here.

Universally Challenged

 Earlier this year I was surprised and delighted to be the answer to a question on University Challenge, the venerable and much-loved quiz show, so I was even more filled with jollity to be asked to appear on the Lancaster team for the Christmas edition of the show, which features graduates with a little more experience of life, the universe and everything, rather than the usual youths. The format otherwise, though, is the same, down to the sizzling quizmastership of Jeremy 'Take No Prisoners' Paxman.

The result of the invitation was a trip to the ITV studios in the glossy new MediaCity development that has transformed the old Salford Docks into something rather glamorous. Across the water, Coronation Street actors smoulder on their new set, while in the main development BBC and ITV come together in a friendly merge that is somehow well reflected in the way ITV makes University Challenge for its old rivals.
MediaCity is worth an exploration in its own right - and we were staying in the Holiday Inn that is right in the middle of the complex - but inevitably the highlight was the filming of the show itself. I was one of the less experienced of the contestants when it came to TV, but even old hands were a little nervous at taking part in such an institution. In total there were 14 teams taking part, of which 4 would go through to the semi-finals, representing a handful of Oxbridge colleges and some of the more modern institutions.
I can't deny I was nervous, but when it came down to it, it was great fun. Our team genuinely enjoyed it in the good old British sense of 'it's the taking part that counts', so win our lose, we were in it for the enjoyment. This helped hugely by the make up of the team - brilliant people one and all. Apart from me, Lancaster was represented by the Daybreak news presenter Ranvir Singh, the film actor (also about to be in Games of Thrones) Roger Ashton-Griffiths and the food critic and TV food judge Matthew Fort. I can say nothing about the result - but we had a truly brilliant experience (probably best of all socialising over a meal afterwards).
If you want to see Christmas University Challenge in action it starts tonight, Friday 20 December, on BBC2 at 7.30pm. Our match against the University of Kent is on tomorrow night, 7.05pm, again on BBC2. Photo (c) ITV Studios, reproduced with permission

Don't panic

But don't say I didn't warn you.

Christmas challenge

Ho, ho, ho!It's that time of year when we're dashing around madly, but at the same time work sometimes slows down a bit. When better moment to take a break from thrashing around for a little light entertainment.

And so we proudly present the Now Appearing Christmas Mostly Musical Quiz . There is no prize (though do feel free to add a comment saying how you did) - just the satisfaction of knowing stuff. Or not.

No Wikipedia or Google cheating please - just try from the top of your head.

The answers are down below.

1. Why do Rangifer tarandus abound this time of year?

2. How would you distinguish Father Christmas from Santa Claus in an identity parade?

3. A certain rhyme in depth:
a) Which poem introduced Santa's reindeer (a bonus if you can give both titles)?
b) Who wrote it?
c) Five years either way, when was it written?
d) Which two reindeer have variant spellings of their name (a bonus for the variants and why)?
e) Who wrote the poem that introduced a ninth reindeer?
f) Three years either way, when was it written?
g) Who set the poem to music?
h) Three years either way, when was it written?

4. What is a macaronic carol?

5. What date is Holy Innocents Day?

6. A funky music collection of 1582 introduced Christmas hits like In Dulce Jubilo (it dates back to the 13th century, but this made it), Gaudete!, Unto us in Born a Son and the tune of Good King Wenceslas. What was it called? (Bonus for the country it originated)

7. Where was Wenceslas a king, what was his actual name and when did he reign (10 years either way)? - three marks up for grabs!

8. Who wrote Silent Night - a mark each for the two (surnames will do)?

9. Multiply drummers drumming by swans a swimming and take away ladies dancing. What do you get?

10. Time for a Christmas drink...


ANSWERS

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ANSWERS

1. Rangifer tarandus are reindeer (or caribou).

2. Father Christmas wears a full length hooded cloak in either red or green. Santa Claus wears separate hat, jacket and trousers in red with white trim, and a broad black belt.

3. A certain rhyme in depth:
a) Twas The Night Before Christmas - A Visit from St Nicholas
b) Clement Clark Moore
c) 1823
d) Donner & Blitzen / Dunder or Donder & Blixem - the second set (used in the original) are the Dutch words for thunder and lightning
e) Robert L. May
f) 1939
g) Johnny Marks
h) 1949

4. A carol in more than one language, typically Latin and English/ language of your choice

5. 28 December

6. Piae Cantiones - Finland

7. Bohemia, Vaclav, 922-929

8. Mohr and Gruber

9. 75

10. Mine's a pint

Image from Wikipedia, by Douglas Rahden

Science needs hands on

What's happening here? Whatever it is, it's not worth examiningI had the pleasure last week of speaking at event for heads of science from secondary schools in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Before my own session I sat in on their get-together where they were primarily discussing the many and byzantine changes to the exam system that the government and Mr Gove's latest whims have brought about.

Two things struck me as an outsider. One was that, rather than simplifying the exam system, every change seemed to make it more complicated. Rather like the way the tax system has got more and more complex over the years, the exam system, particularly once you take in GCSEs, iGCSE equivalents, GCE, BTEC, requirements for the eBac, the three buckets* etc etc has become a tangled mess. Frankly both could do with a 'start again from the beginning', though I accept that the last thing teachers need is yet another upheaval.

However one specific thing stuck out like the veritable sore thumb. In describing the revised A-levels to be implemented in a couple of years' time, there was a statement that was so bizarre that it could only have come from an arts or history graduate. (What did Mr Gove study?) It seems that in the new A-levels, practicals will not contribute at all to the final grade. Apparently, the government is so obsessed with moving to 'traditional' exams and away from coursework, with that dangerous possibility of influence from the teachers creeping in, that they won't be counting any form of practical examination towards grades, as they can't be sensibly externally marked.

This is just ludicrous. Even if you are 'back to the way it was in our day' mode, practicals played an important part in A-level exams 30 or 40 years ago. Of course there are purely theoretical scientists, but to exclude the importance of experimentation for everyone at age 17 or 18 makes no sense. Practical skills in experiments should be as important in science as maths or remembering formulae - quite possibly more so. Let's face it, Michael Faraday would not have got far with an exam where the grade entirely ignored practical ability.

I am more than mind-boggled, I am fuming. Which means I probably should be in a fume cupboard. But whether or not a student could manage this we will never know, because doing experiments is apparently not significant in science any more.

* Don't ask. But it is the official term.

Image from Wikipedia

A pun-ishing yet pleasant read

There is a long tradition of humorous fantasy that has followed two broadly diverging paths - a more sophisticated route in the UK (typified by Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, whose writing, though apparently science fiction could probably be more accurately classed as fantasy) and a rather less subtle approach in the US.

This American genre varies from the hugely entertaining Amber stories of Roger Zelazny (which are primarily adventures, but maintain the wry humour of a noir detective story) to downright silly but fun romps like Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (also by Zelazny). But I had not realized quite how far these books could go in intensity of groan production until coming across Board Stiff.

The book was written by Piers Anthony, a long standing member of the SF and fantasy community who may never have been quite in the first rank, but has turned out many readable tales over the years. It was, I admit, with some trepidation that I approached the book when it was offered to me as it is number 38 (no, not a typo) in the Xanth series of novels. It really is hard to imagine someone reaching that number without churning them out (with the exception of Pratchett), but I was willing to give it a go, having been assured that no previous knowledge of Xanth was required.

Overall the experience was surprisingly pleasant. What we have here is a classic quest story, with a likable cast of characters and some impressive tasks to achieve and obstacles to be overcome. I particularly liked the character Astrid, a basilisk in human form, struggling with the conflict of wanting to taste humanity while being deadly to the species. But there is a price to payment which is coping with the numerous puns that litter the book. Practically everything we meet is a pun of some sort, from the strong drink boot rear, to the central character Irrelevant Kandy, who is either ignored if known by her full name, or lusted after if known as I Kandy. Even the central arc of the story concerns puns and their importance to Xanth.

Kandy's name also brings out the other slightly cringe-making aspect of the series, which is a 1950s-esque coyness about sex, which has been codified into a complex running joke. (Babies, for instance, really are brought by the stork, and the sight of a girl's panties causes any man to freeze in his tracks and remain comatose until snapped out of it.) Combined with a very simplistic writing style this will put a fair number of readers off, though I found it tolerable as long as the book is read with the same sort of 'dated approach' mental filter you have to apply now when reading, say, Asimov's Foundation series.

Overall, an enjoyable, lightweight way to spend a few hours. Unless you are true pun-head it is unlikely to give more than passing amusement, but it is, in the manner of the Earth in Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mostly harmless.

Board Stiff is available from 6 January 2014 and can be pre-ordered before then on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

A Question of God

I am delighted to welcome J. S. Watts as my latest guest blogger. J.S.Watts is a UK writer. She has written three books: two of poetry, “Cats and Other Myths” and the multi-award nominated “Songs of Steelyard Sue” (published by Lapwing Publications) and a novel, “A Darker Moon” (published by Vagabondage Press). She has had a long term interest in mental health issues because of family issues and her work in education. She has served on various Mental Health Act panels and been a Mental Health Trust governor. See her website for further details.

GUEST POST

I’m actually a little hesitant about writing this guest post. I mean, what’s a poet and fiction writer doing writing for a science based blog? Do I have the scientific chops for this? Also, by choosing to share some thoughts on the tricky subject of religious delusion in the seriously mentally ill, I know I could be treading on thin ice and who knows what lies beneath?

Let me be upfront about a few things. I’m not a clinician, scientist or mental health professional. I’m just a writer who observes things, particularly people, and likes to know what makes them tick. I’m also someone who likes to ask questions – lots of questions. One of my earliest spoken phrases was, apparently, “wasat?”, closely followed by, “why?”. This post is just me pondering and asking questions about what I’ve observed during a close association with the UK’s mental health services through family connections, past professional work in the education sector and voluntary work I’ve chosen to undertake.

My principal question is why does religion seem to feature so significantly in the delusions of people with serious mental health problems? I’ve met people who believe they are God (Judaic/Christian/Islamic variety), a god (South American in this context, but other pantheons would probably serve as well), talk to God and angels, hear demons, have found the answer to eternal life and are being confounded by the Anti-Christ (me, on that occasion). What is it with religion that it finds its way into people’s psychoses on such a regular basis?

Is there a historical link? Once upon a time, people who heard voices might be lucky enough to be acclaimed seers, saints or prophets (unless they were unlucky enough to be deemed witches or possessed). These days, hearing voices is likely to earn you the label of schizophrenic or psychotic. Does the knowledge of past, positive, cultural interpretations of internally heard voices play to our need for illusory superiority and  colour our experiences today?

Are we looking at a social phenomenon? For years humanists such as Julian Huxley have seen religion as a prop or crutch some people are born needing. On the other side of the argument, the Christian Church offers itself up as a refuge and shelter for those in need. In the despair and chaos that can be experienced during extreme mental ill health, is it surprising that religion becomes involved in chaotic mental processes, both as a potential source of salvation and as evidence that life is truly hellish?

Does religious delusion have a physiological cause, running deep in our DNA and hard-wired into our brains? Here, I’m thinking of geneticist Gene Hamer whose hypothesis  proposes that a specific identifiable gene predisposes humans towards  spiritual or mystic experiences. Whilst this theory has had its gainsayers, more recent psychological research by Professor Bruce Hood suggests that magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, whilst yet other researchers have found evidence linking religious feelings and experience to particular regions of the brain which can be stimulated to induce feelings of religious euphoria or the sense of a divine presence. Mental illness often has physiological roots and can be caused by the brain’s chemistry malfunctioning, so perhaps the repeated God delusion is just a sign of our mental wiring playing up?

Despite clinical advances in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and the phenomenal work of some truly committed and outstanding people, my own observations and the sea of fluctuating and misdiagnoses I have come across, lead me to believe that psychiatry today remains, in many cases, as much an art as a science. For this reason, I am sure, it has proved a source of endless fascination for creative writers from Charlotte Bronte to Sebastian Faulks, with his epic “Human Traces” and the fictionally more successful “Engleby”. Less exalted writers such as myself have also grazed the subject matter. In my dark fiction novel, “A Darker Moon”, one man’s search for himself has both psychological and mythic roots. Like this blog post, the novel raises questions about life, sanity and being human - which it does not claim to answer. The solution to what is delusion and what is true is not a clear one. Indeed, one reviewer who praised the book commented “Each of us will see some form of light at the end of this author's tunnel, but it won't be the same one, the same colour, or even the same destination.” and isn’t that a bit like life itself?

Indeed, I’d go so far as to suggest that this fundamental ambiguity may also have something to do with the frequency of religious delusions in psychotic episodes. In saying this, I do realise that some people are so ill that the implausibility of believing themselves to be the US President or their wife a hat is immaterial, but for those whose psychosis co-exists with the real world, how can they or their medical advisors prove that they are not God or that the voices they hear are not demonic? You can believe it to be nonsensical and a sign of mental illness, but can you actually prove it? Really? It may be worth remembering that one man’s strong religious belief is another’s ill-advised superstition, can be another’s evidence of mental illness. Surely past historical acceptance of people hearing voices and experiencing divine revelations, when compared with the Roman Catholic Church’s current day belief in miracles and the beatification of modern saints, teaches us that there is still a spectrum of perceptions ranging from religious experience to mental illusion. Boundaries between the two are not as clear cut in the 21st Century as those of us who emphasise the scientific and rational in life would like to believe.

Oh look, there’s that word again, “belief”: a concept that has been central to human existence for millennia, may be hardwired into our brains and our DNA, has extensive social, cultural and historical roots and for many people is as ambiguous as an imprecise psychiatric diagnosis. Even when allegedly well, we argue over it, fight over it and kill for it. Maybe it’s not that surprising, therefore, that such an integral part of the human condition is with us in illness as well as health?