Mark Cantrell's Blog, page 29

Essay: Custodians of a literary culture

Is silence digital in the ghost-written revolution? Print is far from dead and digital is no passing fad, but we still argue over which one will shape the future of our literary culture. In this essay from 2011, Mark Cantrell suggests it’s a distraction from the real issue — a faction fight between two sets of corporate […]

Entertainment: Marvel Avengers on mission to recruit tomorrow’s engineering heroes

And along the way pay tribute to the late Stan Lee The spirit of the late Stan Lee mingles among the fans at an exhibition dedicated to the super heroes he created; where the Avengers have been signed up for an important new mission By Mark Cantrell THE Avengers are doing their bit to help […]

Society: Yes, but the poor can’t eat a minister for hunger. Can they?

UK Government must appoint a minister for hunger to feed its people It’s a sad indictment of a government that it allows its poorest and most vulnerable citizens to go hungry, but can the appointment of a dedicated minister for hunger really change anything? A committee of MPs seems to think so… By Mark Cantrell […]

Science: Astronauts might learn a thing or two from Antarctic explorers

Like how to cope with chronic stress and isolation Antarctic researchers enter a state of ‘psychological hibernation’ during the winter months, a study has found, and this could have profound implications for long-term space missions By Mark Cantrell LOCKED inside a tin can, far from the safety of home; a bubble where an artificially maintained […]

Blog: So long 2018, and thanks for all the fish and chips

Water water everywhere and not a drop to think Dementia and a flooded kitchen were just some of the highlights of Mark Cantrell’s year just gone, but at least he managed to get some writing done… THIS isn’t really my thing – looking back on the year gone by – but it strikes me that […]

Technology: Leeds STEAM Hack aims to put girls in their place

By encouraging them to become the tech whizzes of tomorrow With a little inspiration from the ‘Queens of Industry’ An exhibition celebrating the ‘Queens of Industry’ past is the perfect setting for an event that aims to inspire girls to become the tech whizzes of tomorrow’s digital age By Mark Cantrell AN exhibition at a […]

Heritage: The clock stops on world navigation

But a ‘time doctor’ gets it going again A historic clock that proved the scientific technological breakthrough needed to accurately navigate the Earth, and which set us on course to the Moon, finally stopped ticking – but it wasn’t quite the end of time By Mark Cantrell TIME finally caught up with a clock that […]

Technology: Scientists fire up million-processor supercomputer to study human brain

But ‘neuromorphic’ machine offers only a fraction of brain’s processing power A supercomputer with a million processors, built to mimic the workings of the human brain may be powerful, but it shows just how far technology lags behind the old grey matter By Mark Cantrell A new supercomputer built to model the workings of the […]

Essay: Programming the soul of truth

Truth Be Told We live in an age of carefully crafted untruths – but it’s not just newspapers that seek to ‘recalibrate’ our perceptions By Mark Cantrell TRUTH might be objective but that doesn’t mean that it stands aloof and unbiased – truth takes sides. But here’s the thing: truth – the real truth – […]

History: Red Cross displays oddball items discovered in its archives

What weirdness lurks in your attic? The nation’s attics can hide some pretty strange stuff, but in searching through its archives the British Red Cross has unearthed plenty of its own – including a nuclear survival kit, a prisoner of war cookers and author Agatha Christie’s volunteer card By Mark Cantrell MANY of us might […]