paulsutton

I don't even know what SFN is, sorry.

Surely at University level the information presented should be clear, and it should be clear where and how the data was collected. How else can you then make an interpretation without knowing all the facts.

How is this a reason to ban books in 2022. I can understand this happening in Germany during the 1930s I would have hoped we had moved on since then, perhaps not.

I agree, we need to focus on people who can demonstrate the right attitude such as I want to make a difference in my job rather than I am here for the pay packet at the end of the month. I am trying to study for a level 2 teaching assistant qualification, but schools are hardly very good at taking people on and helping them develop their skills or looking at what skills they have and being able to make the most of that person. From working in a classroom you need to be good with children, you also need common sense, initiative and the ability to problem solve, not things that can be just taught, you develop these skills as you go or at least seem to.

Good point, i did comment on twitter that I hope fracking is a short term thing until we get alternatives up and running. But yes we should put solar panels on a lot of buildings from the start, and attach to older buildings too, the new solar tech that has been developed not only seems to make panels more efficient but also more recyclable at end of life. . Our government are here for short term action, if we need engineers etc then we need to push engineering from year 7 (first year of secondary at age 11) so that we can develop the interest and also the skills for the future, instead we keep kids at school till 18. For many school isn't working, so why not let them leave at 14, and work in engineering (in this case) as apprentices. By the time they are 18, they will have skills, experience and qualifications that make them useful immediately, compared to their peers who stay at school. There are plenty of routes back in to academia later on n life too,

So what about existing fields that have been closed down?, is the time taken to get them back up any shorter ? I know some have apparently concreted over. >5 years is a long time, I guess the government wants to be 'seen' doing something, only from this, it seems like a sticking plaster over a gunshot wound.

The UK prime minister, Liz Truss has announced an end to the ban on Fracking in the UK. I would be very interested in being able to separate fact from fiction on this topic. I understand the basic principle which is to pump water in to underground reserves of natural gas in order to force these to the surface. The explosives are needed to open up the rocks that hold the reserves of gas. I goes without saying the usual social media channels will be full of all sorts of 'opinions' as to this causing earthquakes (which as far as I understand will be very low in magnitude anyway) and a host of other theories to help their objection argument. Hence any links to actual papers or research and factual information would be helpful, as I am hopefully going to be in schools as a Teaching assistant then being able to present some real facts would be great. But this will be useful anyway. Thanks Paul

In the UK, part of digital literacy is being able to find information online, however it expands to finding legitimate / accurate and credible information based on evidence. It is part of a push to ensure people can do this, given the amount of information that is available. I think this is a move up from simply being able to looking things up, So understanding terms such as peer review is going to be essential to help people with this, it also helps them form arguments. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zxs2xsg/revision/1 An example I came across is trying to find a a recent how to for how to carry out a task on the Linux operating system, in many cases the first links that come up are also the links that have been read or followed the most, as they have been around longer, so you end up with a how_to for say Ubuntu 12.04 which is less than helpful. Paul Or what their friends tell them, as they see people as very knowledgable, even if they are not. So what they say on a topic goes. I think this article perhaps illustrates what we are up against and why it is important to learn how to find credible information TikTok Search Results Riddled With Misinformation: Report https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bc-us-tiktok-misinformation_n_6321c9b0e4b027aa40614814 Paul

You raise a good point here, Sense about science have some resources on peer review https://senseaboutscience.org/activities/peer-review/ How important is it, that the general population who are not from a science background understand these processes so that they can trust science. Surely there is little point in peer review if people don't understand / know what this is. If any science is also funded through taxation, then surely those conducting any research etc are accountable to tax payers. In turn should expect the highest standards to be upheld. So what can run along side peer review to help ensure the processes are robust and trustworthy? Paul

I spotted this on Twitter and decided to share as it is science related 19th to 23rd September is peer review week https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2022/09/15/ask-the-chefs-is-research-integrity-possible-without-peer-review/ I am not associated with this, just sharing the information. The question "Is Research Integrity Possible without Peer Review?" could make an interesting discussion at some point. Paul

Ah thanks, that makes perfect sense. Paul

How do you release 2.43 neutrons ? This suggests 2 whole neutrons, plus 1/2 a neutron. Or is that just a silly question.

So is this related to the idea that time slows down as it approaches the speed of light. ?

Great that humans are going back to the Moon, lets just hope it goes well, so far NASA are having Hydrogen leak issues. In the meantime, hopefully it will inspire people in to STEM and what can be achieved with international collaboration. New tech will come from these missions which may hopefully benefit all of us.

I am just going to ask a few questions with regard to using Lithium metal found in batteries, or at least going on this video below that I found on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGDkiUAwxRs&feature=youtu.be First things first, I fully acknowledge that doing what is suggested in the video is dangerous however being as this section is for home chemistry perhaps I can ask some general questions. 1. Lithium metal is available to schools via education supply stores but I am guessing not to home chemists 2. If supplied it is stored under oil or oil film, I would assume this is to prevent reaction with the air or I would assume any moisture in the air, therefore what sort of oil can be used for this ? Most people probably have access to cooking oil (either sunflower or vegetable oil) but what sort of oil would normally be used in a school science lab for this ? For reference there is a MSDS here, so this shows that I can look things up at least. http://msdsdownloads.co.uk/msds/msds_lithium_metal.pdf DISCLAIMER I am not in any shape way or form suggesting people do the above, so just asking generally. However if anyone HAS tried this is there any feed back /' advise can they give please. Thanks Paul

Fingers crossed for Friday, It does seem that what there will be a briefing later but this is part of the journey eh.

Mission attempt on 29th August scrubbed : https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/08/29/launch-attempt-scrubbed/

Yes, but that was one example, so on reflection was a bad example/ However maybe the question should be was Babbage aware of similar devices to those you mention, did something perhaps inspire him to make his difference engine ? e.g Jacquard Loom controller from 1801

The current lot are in limbo until the new PM is in pace, then who knows what will happen. I agree with the Lib Dems and Labour - recall parliament. The current PM is AWOL. However people in the real world can save up their annual leave and take that during their notice period (so maybe he is doing that) but when it comes to running a county, he should be running the country. Deputy PM seems to be AWOL too, but he was during last years Afghan crisis So back to being in Limbo, this seems to be out of choice, Just a shambles

How concerned should we be about the upcoming potential of mass strike action in the UK? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62706769 Just getting the thoughts of people on this.

Is there not some sort of archaeological evidence that ancient civilisations may have had some sort of mechanical calculating devices. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56377567 I wonder if Charles Babbage had knew about any of this or perhaps influenced in some way before building his 'difference engine'

Back in the 80's Research machines a UK company making computers (IMP compatible) had manuals, but random pages would be special paper that turned black if photocopied, it was a sort of copy protection. I wonder if top secret documents would be printed on such paper, then again with PDF there is no need to print or should not be unless you do intend to write notes or need to sign in ink .

And there are people who want him back in power, I suppose to dictators he is the perfect 'useful idiot'

So is this standard procedure with other presidents or just with Donald Trump, as in would Obama, Clinton, or Kennedy have asked someone else to read a document of such importance. it seems as commander in chief you have responsibilities htat if you pass these to others it would for a lot of normal jobs amount to a gross dereliction of duty and result in dismissal. The police chief in Uvalde was sacked for not going in to the school, but his reaction is to try and say lack of evidence, which given there is video footage of police standing by and it ends up being another team going in to deal with the situation, this seems typical of those in power, never their fault. We get the same nonsense here in the UK social workers / police fail to act, as a result children come to harm, but these officials try and wriggle out of accepting some responsibility and find some other person to blame. I wonder how other countries see the USA right now over all this, esp countries such as China, North Korea and Russia, they must be laughing at you over all this. The US needs a strong ROBUST leader and as trump said "clear the swamp" and restore the US as a country that can lead by example and stand up to bullies at home and abroad.

Just replying to my post to include a link to the Launch schedule on the NASA website https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-launch-coverage-for-artemis-mega-moon-rocket-spacecraft