Cool Periodic Table

Found this recently on Terry Tao's website, a periodic table where each element has its uses documented with it. Should make a poster for each lab in the country.

PM apologises to Alan Turing

On Thursday, 10 September the Prime Minister apologised for the treatment of Alan Turing, who took his own life two years after he was prosecuted for being gay. The apology came in response to a petition, created by computer scientist, John Graham-Cumming, which has over 30,000 signatories.

The Prime Minister’s apology also recognised Alan Turing’s vital role during World War Two:

Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different.

And the Prime Minister concluded by saying:

So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.

These quotes are taken from The Official site of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the full apology is available at http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20571.

This article quoted from the IMA site

Long-due Update

I passed my transfer assessment - now I'm a Stage 2 phd student. Hooray! Then I got married and had a great holiday with my lovely husband. Then we moved house. Now I'm back in phd-land again, finding it hard to settle in and fighting exhaustion.

I also have some interesting science-related plans which will be highly funding-dependent. I will keep you posted of developments.

Books & update

Finally finished Charles Stross' Accelerando. Hard work but probably worth it. Taking a break now to re-read Philip Pullman's Dark Materials. Always a good read. Waiting to be transfer assessed for my Phd. Can find me on ravelry where there will soon be pictures of my obsessive hat crocheting.

Understanding the Financial Crisis

There's a very interesting half-day conference coming up in U.C.D. called 'Understanding the financial crisis: Did mathematical models fail?'. I'm fascinated by the implications of the recent crash for financial mathematics and can't wait to hear what some of the experts have to say. Be there or be a regular quadrilateral.

Primary School Problems

I was thinking this morning about the training systems for teachers in Ireland, at all levels. I have various views on the topic, probably quite unusual or controversial. However it struck me today how there might be a correlation between falling numbers of male teachers and the statistical evidence that females tend to gain, on-average, more points in the Leaving Certificate than males (can't find the reference or precise terms). I would be interested to see what percentage of males applying to primary level teaching courses are successful and compare this to the percentage of successful females. I have long thought that interviews should be re-introduced for courses which lead to a professional qualification reliant on human relations. This could be incorporated into the CAO system in a similar way as the portfolios are for artistic options. Perhaps this would help to mitigate the effects of the high points required and encourage those who might be intimidated by them. There is also a strange situation in effect where Leaving Cert males do not think it is socially acceptable to express an interest in primary teaching, while society considers it a laudable choice. This arises from a dichotomy of thought in society. But perhaps that is a rant for another day on the status of teachers in the new millennium.

Excellent Hunky Dorys

Hunky Dorys are a brand of Irish crisps made in Meath and Lisburn. I had some in my sandwich today and they were tasty. But the best bit of all was the packet. Under allergy advice it has:
"Doesn't contain Kryptonite (but does contain soya)".
What originally caught my attention though was the advice:
Storage Conditions:
Treat Hunky Dorys like Gremlins. Keep them cool, dry & away from bright lights &strong flavours.

I don't remember the strong flavours being a problem for the gremlins but it's been a few years since I last saw it. Must re-watch!