Ever since I had learnt that I could drop the leading ‘e’ in the word ‘extreme’ and get away with it, I knew that I was one of society’s thrill seekers. It started in the workplace with ‘xtreme programming’ but it wasn’t long before I had taken my adrenalin addiction home with me and I … Continue reading →

  The current COVID-19 crisis has focused many people’s attention on the question of risk and how governments go about ensuring public safety. I have no epidemiological experience that enables me to comment knowledgably upon the UK government’s strategies, and if I did claim to have any I am sure there would be someone out … Continue reading →

Since the dawn of time mankind has been faced with two brute facts: Nothing is straightforward and entropy is a bitch. To address the former, and in apparent defiance of the latter, our species has benefitted from two developments that have broadly co-evolved: Complex brains and complex societies. So much has been written about these … Continue reading →

Here you find me, sitting in my study, surrounded by the same collection of Waterstones Smart Thinking books that Dominic Cummings uses to run the country, trying desperately to self-isolate for my wife’s benefit, because I swear to God, if the virus doesn’t kill her, I will. And then I look at the calendar and … Continue reading →

It’s looking very much like an awful lot of us are destined to have lot of time on our hands. So I thought it might be helpful if I were to heartily recommend a number of books that you could buy to wile away the time (assuming Amazon stays up, of course). If you have … Continue reading →

  Following a brief reading of the World Weather Attribution report regarding the 2019 Australian bushfires, I felt the following extracts were worthy of comment: “The study reveals the complexity of the 2019/20 bushfire event, with some, but not all drivers showing an imprint of anthropogenic climate change.” That seems fair enough. But, of course, … Continue reading →

It was Boxing Day, 2004, and hundreds of holiday makers were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ by worshipping the Sun gods on the beaches of Phuket. Amongst them was a little ten year old girl from Oxshott, Surrey, who had been blessed with one of those charmingly genteel names one would expect of a … Continue reading →

Part 5 – The New Laws of Probability “You’re making a big mistake,” threatened Damian as Harry tightened the rope around his wrists. Unfortunately, Damian’s threats now carried the menace of a generator salesman, not a mad dog. Harry seemed unconcerned. “Oh yeh? So what are you going to do about it? Refuse me discounts … Continue reading →

  Having at last solved the hire car assistant puzzle, I suddenly found myself confronted instead by several more mysteries of a somewhat more pressing nature. For example, if our smoky bandit wasn’t dropping off a hire car, then what was he doing? Why did he think Damian and I were part of his dastardly … Continue reading →