Coming up… 28 Sep 200718 Sep 2017 Stay tuned after the break as we will be showing the following specials, rated R for Reason. Suitable for 15 years and over… I worked for ten years at The Walter and Eliza Institute of Medical Research (WEHI for short). This was the institution at which Macfarlane Burnet was director. I will be writing a piece on Mac’s Clonal Selection Theory of immunology, and if my former employers and employees come through, I aim to have images of Mac’s actual lab book where he came up with the idea, on the 50th anniversary of the publication of it. The youthful and handsome Jason Grossman has roped me in to do a dadaist seminar on Feyerabend. Jason and I are the intellectual progeny of Neil Thomason, who was one of PKF’s students, so we are his intellectual grandsons, and therefore cousins (I’m the one that never gets invited to the family reunions). I may recount the experience of Jason’s experiment and my humiliation. Or not, if the humiliation is too great (but our grandpapa would have revelled in it). I have a bunch of speciation-related papers to comment on. I’m preparing an introduction to the evolution of religion. You’ll read bits here first (as in, first draft). I’d like to thank all the kind words from various people about my academic difficulties, including and in particular Stefan Linquist and Craig Miller who in the nicest possible way told me to suck it up and be a mensch. I will repay… But as I’m still teaching a subject I am barely able to comprehend, bear with me; it may take a small while. And I haven’t forgotten the other to-dos either. Administrative Humor
Book On rules 1 Jun 2009 My friend and colleague William Grey gave me a copy of F. M. Cornford’s Microcosmographia Academica, in which I read this passage which is so apposite to the modern day: The principle of Discipline (including Religion) is that ‘there must be some rules‘. If you inquire the reason, you will… Read More
Administrative Who… are you? 5 Jul 2010 Sorry. Dave Grohl moment there. All the Cool Kids at Scienceblogs are asking their readers to identify themselves. So, if the Cool Kids do it, I have to as well (why yes, I did have problems at high school. Why do you ask?). I hope they don’t leap over a… Read More
Administrative Comment snafu 9 Sep 2008 I just checked the spam comments folder, and there, amidst the sea of Envall crap, were some legitimate comments. So I have revived them, and this may explain some discontinuities and duplications in various threads. My apologies to the victims. Read More
Jason Grossman has roped me in to do a dadaist seminar on Feyerabend. Suitable for 15 year olds? Hah!
Have you read Gus Nossal’s book about WEHI? I reviewed it over here: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1470
Jason Grossman has roped me in to do a dadaist seminar on Feyerabend. Now that would be worth swimming to OZ for!
Gus gave me a copy, because the ms and graphics were prepared by my department. As I taught him to use PowerPoint, I made him promise to teach me to joust, him being a knight of the realm, but he never did…
Dr Grace, CEO of ActoKine Therapeutics did a PhD with Sir Gus Nossal at WEHI and she bought 30 books (about WEHI written by Sir Gus Nossal). Dr Grace will be happy to send this book to students of all ages in immunology. Please e-mail alex@pauling.us from Alex Pauling (for Dr. Grace, ActoKine)