Over at Edge is a must-read piece giving many expert but readable examples of where science had the wrong answers but stuck to them for a long time. The explanations cast light on many other aspects of knowledge and learning. See eg leading computer scientist Roger Schank describing how another […]
Public speaking expert Max Atkinson wages his vigorous war against PowerPoint in general and especially when used on BBC TV news programmes. Here, for example, he describes how he presented some unsuspecting diners with a clip from a BBC News programme and then asked them how much they remembered: It […]
Remember the excellent book Parting Shots, in which valedictory despatches by all sorts of former British ambassadors are published for your enjoyment and edification? Here the BBC looks at some of them who just got things wrong. Former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd reviews it in the Spectator and is unimpressed with the […]
Have a look at this example of a superb presentation about big picture global and other economic trends, by Niall Ferguson. It’s all very well going on about the annoying features of PowerPoint, many of which are indeed annoying. But how could the wealth of insight and information contained in […]
My talk at TEDxKrakow contained one throw-away observation which raised warm applause from the massed Polish audience. I said that I had studied various languages. Polish is the only one which teaches you the verb ‘to complain’ – narzekać – as one of the VERY FIRST VERBS YOU LEARN. This subsequently led to […]
Via Twitter I find that somehow I have been linked to the website Calculated Presentations, a source of good if breathless public speaking encouragement seemingly aimed at people who feel nervous about pronouncing in front of others. It’s run by Janice Tomich, who I suspect has some Balkan DNA coursing through […]
For a notable example of a female Guardian writer with bad glasses delivering a piece of bewildering strangeness and being dumped on by dozens of readers, go no further than this clueless piece about the alleged Tyranny of Marriage by one Lara Pawson: I want to divorce the man I love […]
Here is the link to the video of my TEDx presentation in Krakow on the Physics of Diplomacy. Pretty gruesome watching yourself in action. But I have done so in the name of Science. Some interesting public speaking points emerge. First, I don’t want to cross swords with Max Atkinson […]
Today I was contacted via this site someone needing a quick (but good) article written about How to give a Eulogy. He had Googled speech expert and this site had come top of the first page. Hurrah. An hour later, said article duly delivered to general satisfaction. Now I need to work on my […]
