At a dinner party some time ago, an academic’s husband pointed out that there are many similarities between being an academic and running a small, not very profitable business. I laughed, but since I briefly ran a small business the comment struck a chord with me. After much thought, I think small business owners and […] … learn more→

Study after study after study…every day another study, because they’re so easy to do now. The modern world runs on computers, and computers are just awesome at collecting and storing numbers. Statistics is good at simplifying those numbers into easier-to-understand numbers. Nowadays, all a “study” is, is someone taking a few minutes to use statistics […] … learn more→

Recent years have seen a big spike in the popularity of indoor gardening. According to Produce Grower, the indoor and hydroponic gardening retail market topped $1 billion in revenues in 2015. There is no sign that the growth is going to slow down, either. Indoor gardening products from brands such as SunLite and Aerogarden are […] … learn more→

Donald Trump has signed a new executive order preventing citizens of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for the next 90 days. The decree covers Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, but it will not apply to visa holders or dual citizens. Refugees will be denied entry to the country for a period […] … learn more→

The Earth has been the blue planet for as many as 3.8 billion years. Ancient sedimentary rock deposits and lava that cooled into characteristic pillow shapes provide irrefutable evidence that liquid water has existed at the Earth’s surface for at least this long. But given how many barren rocks there are in the galaxy, Earth’s […] … learn more→

I completed my PhD after a pretty substantial professional career. Then, I went into an academic job and jumped straight into my own small research projects. Now, somewhat later,  I direct larger and longer research projects, often with a colleague and a small research team. This team almost always includes a new PhD, an early career researcher – and their […] … learn more→

Most people would agree that living more sustainably is something to strive for. With £13bn worth of food being wasted each year in the UK and global temperature records being broken every three years, being green is more important than ever. But it’s a lot easier said than done. For the vast majority, trying to […] … learn more→

If the popular media are to be believed, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to steal your job and threaten life as we know it. If we do not prepare now, we may face a future where AI runs free and dominates humans in society. The AI revolution is indeed underway. To ensure you are prepared […] … learn more→

I must commend the right-wing speakers for their courage. Despite living under the constant threat of violence, they still feel the need to try to spread their message, try to explain their point of view. I’ve written a few times of how these speakers are consistently removed from campus, because administration fears that their presence […] … learn more→

An increase in the proportion of women accessing microfinance services by just 15% could potentially reduce gender inequality, as measured by the Gender Inequality Index, by half in the average developing nation. The finding comes from a recent study published in Applied Economics Letters that also found that cultural characteristics can influence this relationship. Gender […] … learn more→