Politics in the UK has been on a rollercoaster ride in the last few weeks over Brexit. There have been many high profile cabinet resignations by ministers who are unhappy with the proposed Chequers plan. Brexiteers and Remainers, who are Read more…
The Law of Large Numbers is a cornerstone of statistical science. It says that, while it is very hard to predict things on an individual basis, it is much easier to predict things on an aggregate basis once you have Read more…
The problem of intangible assets In 1988 Nestle bought Rowntree, the UK confectionary company famous for its fruit gums and jelly babies. It paid £2.5 bn which was three times more than the market thought it was worth. Nestle then Read more…
Fossils are not the whole story When you think of evolution what image first springs to mind? It’s probably a hall in the Natural History Museum filled with fossils. All the dinosaurs, trilobites, coelacanths and ammonites together make an awesome Read more…
On the centenary of the Titanic disaster of 1912 another huge cruse ship sank. The Costa Concordia ran aground in January 2012 hitting a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Although most of the passengers and crew were evacuated safely over Read more…
I was working on a local history project in Kent (where I live) when a friend gave me some old photos. They showed men in frock coats handling hops on long trestle tables. These are city workers handling an agricultural Read more…
General Stanley McChrystal, the most senior military commander in Afghanistan, was summoned to the White House in 2010 and sacked by President Obama following a candid interview in Rolling Stone magazine. What does this demonstrate? Well, one conclusion is all Read more…
One of the great joys of a holiday in France is the early morning trip to the boulangerie, in my case the Ti Ar Bara in Audierne. The baker has been up since 3.00am, working hard for your sybaritic pleasure. Read more…
Vanity Fair in July 2012 had a great article titled “Microsoft’s lost decade”. It described how the corporate giant lost its way and changed from being an indomitable technology Titan to a has-been. Just as IBM did a decade earlier. Read more…