Abstract: What we can learn from North Korea about populace control...
Given the smattering of rather bizarre official reports that emerge from North Korea, and the fact that they're invariably distorted in an attempt to protect it as the world's most secretive state, it's hard to imagine that the country could teach us anything. However, if there's one thing it's hit squarely on the head, it's how to keep its people in place; something I'm sure most governments wish they could get right.
If you'd like to try something a little weird but not that difficult, take a couple of minutes one day to pop into your local travel agent and tell them you feel you deserve a holiday, and that you were thinking of Pyongyang. The chances are they'd discourage you and suggest somewhere a little more upbeat; say Siberia. If I were
Handy lessons from North Korea
Coning? Are you a barbarian?
Abstract: Ever thought of candling to remove 'negative energy'. Then you need a smack to the head. Or to read this...
Few things catch my eye in store windows nowadays. Blame it on old age and my perfunctory disregard for all things fashionable. But not so long ago I did a double take when walking past a health shop near my apartment in London. In the window was a picture of a woman lying on her side with a candle sticking out of her ear. It was an advert for a procedure they offered called coning, and which it claimed could cure all manner of ills. I thought it looked rather medieval, even barbaric.
That's because it is, and modern science can prove it.
Coning, sometimes called 'ear candling' or 'auricular candling' (to try and sound like a proper medical procedure), involves sticking a candle
Why politicians need a whispering slave
Abstract: What modern political leaders could learn from the ancient Romans.
As the world waited with baited breath as North and South Korea did the 21st Century equivalent of rattling sabres, I imagined North Korean leader Kim Jong-un perched on a throne, stroking a furry white cat on his lap, whilst he grinned and jabbed a podgy finger at little plastic missiles on a large map of the world. Grouped around him were his trusty generals, continually bowing and scraping the floor, shiny medals littering their chests and beads of perspiration glistening on their furrowed, worried brows. And I thought, "Boy, that man needs a whispering slave".
In ancient Rome there was a very special tribute that was accorded to a victorious general. It was called the Roman Triumph. It was a lavish parade designed to honour Rome, but where the general was the
Should editors be our moral arbiters?
Abstract: Are TV news editors really qualified to determine what we watch?
On 20th October 2011 Muammar Gaddafi was captured by rebel soldiers, taunted, beaten and shot. His body was then publicly displayed and abused. You will remember it because it was shown on TV. It savaged some of the fundamental moral guidelines of broadcasting, but was considered justified for reasons that are dubious. It deserves re-examining now because South Africa is, unfortunately, being increasingly riddled with such 'Gaddafi' moments.
Shortly after the murder of Gaddafi I had the opportunity to challenge a professor of journalism and one of the UK's most respected authorities on issues around morality in the media why the local TV stations aired footage of his capture. I asked him who makes the decision whether or not I, as a viewer, should witness Gaddafi's obvious distress. He missed the broader philosophical
The volatile chemistry of the business brain
Abstract: Think your staff think rationally? Think again. They're held hostage to chemistry...
It's alluring to believe that we are the masters of our thinking, especially in a business environment; but hidden away in bits and pieces of our bodies are chemicals and bursts of electrical activity that hold our reasoning hostage.
Towards the end of 2011 when Britain was still immersed in navel-gazing over the riots that had left its capital in flames, I was attached to the science desk of the Financial Times in London. One day I approached the editor with an idea that there were similarities between mob behaviour and the actions of market traders. He seemed bemused that I should even suggest that the responsible and calculative thinking that underpinned the world's financial capital could in any way mirror that of the rampant youths who had trashed and burned
Piggy, and the death of journalism
Abstract: Look to Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' for the tragic future of journalism...
You should keep this magazine; and one day in the not-too-distant future show it to your grandchildren or great-grandchildren and explain to them how in the old days you used to pay money to read something written by people called 'journalists'. They'll be amazed and surprised, even laugh at how bizarre such a notion should be.
I'll be long gone by then, my final days spent as a dejected pauper, strapped to a gurney, thrashing around and frothing at the mouth, shouting between the spittle about how democracy killed a discipline and an art form, and steered humanity towards idiocy.
If you have a sneaking suspicion where I'm going with this, I'd hazard a guess you've read William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. Like Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', it endures as one
The state of science journalism in South Africa
Abstract: In a country racked by violent crime, political infighting and scientific ignorance, the quest of the science journalist mirrors that of a famous Greek mythical hero...
According to Greek mythology, Prometheus, a titan, forged mankind from clay, and knowing that mankind needed fire to survive, he lit a torch from the sun and brought it to Earth. Zeus considered the fire stolen, and was so incensed he punished Prometheus - an immortal - by having him chained to a rock, and a giant eagle tear at his liver every day.
It's a myth imbued with themes of discovery, bravery and loyalty; but the bringing of knowledge, represented by fire, to mankind, is why the analogy of Prometheus is used by the University of Stellenbosch's Professor George Claassen to describe the state of science journalism in his country.
Prof Claassen is the popular archetype of
Remember your equations?
Abstract: A measure of worth for a leader lies in simple equations...
There's a simple test to see if a person in a position of leadership has got what it takes to make effective decisions - ask them to explain the following equation: F=ma. If it's got you stumped, it's no use skimming through the myriad business management books collecting dust in your office; you won't find it there. You'll have to think back to when you were a lot younger.
During the late 1990s I was part of a company that designed and presented science shows at schools and science centres. I've lost count of the number of schools I visited, but suffice to say I became something of an odd fixture in science education, pacing the school halls in my red lab coat crawling with plastic spiders, carrying my black box plastered
Suspending disbelief? Don’t you believe it.
Abstract: The intellectual downgrading of today's TV programming...
There’s an advert on TV that is particularly infuriating. It features two attractive women standing next to identical washing machines positioned in the middle of an unbelievably uncluttered kitchen. One of the women is bemoaning her inability to remove a stubborn stain from a garment she has just pulled out of the machine. She obviously hasn’t realised her machine is neither plugged in nor connected to the water supply.
I know what you’re thinking: it’s only an advert. But that’s the part that interests me – you know that the two women are fooling you, and yet you’re still expected to trust them. Not only that, but trust them to the extent that you will rush out and buy the product they say works without water or electricity. This means you must be gullible.
There is of
Why you don’t howl at the moon
Abstract: Why claims of lunar-induced lunacy are bollocks...
One of the most fascinating people I ever met when I started in radio was the station's late night presenter. He was something of a wistful, so-called New Age character. When I first met him his head was buried in his hands as he bemoaned the fact that it was a full moon that night. "What difference does that make?" I asked him. He gave me a tired smile and shook his head, "'Cos it brings out the crazies." I remember thinking, "Hey, it's the 1980s! Do people still believe that rubbish?" [I may have used another word.]
It seems they did - and still do. And not just in a silly, breathless Twilight-Saga-kiss-the-werewolf-and-he-turns-into-a-strapping-young-hunk kind of way. But rather in a furiously nodding, yes-there's-definitely-something-in-it kind of way. So I'd be failing in my duty as Sceptic