Abstract: Women's rights remain unfulfilled as long as they're expected to take their husbands' names upon marriage...
Women's Day has come and gone, but the rest of the month remains dedicated to women, so expect the continued lauding of women leaders, and the debating of issues around gender equality. However, during this time an elephant will remain in the room, seemingly unnoticed, sitting patiently in the corner, quietly knitting away.
I never studied Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but I am familiar with one of its most powerful lines, uttered, importantly, by Juliet; and no, it's not the one you're thinking of. It's this one: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." In a nutshell Juliet predates women's liberation ideology by declaring that the cultural importance attached to a name is artificial, especially one
What’s in a woman’s name?
When your brand goes viral, untethered
Abstract: What breakfast radio can teach us about the secret of social media...
In the cut-throat world of commercial breakfast radio there's a golden measure of the impact of a show, the holy grail as it were of how powerful it is; and here's the twist: it's a measurement that, itself, can never be measured. But wait - as the saying goes - there's more: it now holds the key to your, and your company's image. Concerned? You should be.
Commercial breakfast radio is a rather fickle beast. Keep it well fed, unexercised, and it will purr along contentedly, occupying the room with little attention, a bit like an overweight cat. Ignore it and it will whine in the corner, become disruptive and invite all manner of maladies, until you have to get rid of it. It'll be somewhat feral. If you really want
Why women are aways right. Sometimes.
Abstract: The psychology of why men should believe women are always right. Sometimes...
My wife has a habit of being right all the time. Part of it's because she has multiple degrees, a searing intellect, a virtually photographic memory, and three best-selling books to her name; but it's mainly because she's a woman. What she and other women don't know though, is why this is so, and especially now.
Before I explain everything I must plead guilty to the anticipated charge of generalisation. This is purely because of deadlines - I can't account for the behaviour and opinion of all women and still write it up in time for you to read it.
There are three reasons why women are always right, sometimes; and interestingly science has a part to play in it, again, sometimes.
Firstly, women are always right because you can't argue with them.
The humble potato – villain or victim?
Abstract: Does the potato hold a clue to obesity in South Africa?...
Outside of a daily dose of aspirin, few things we pop into our mouths have vacillated so much in their fortunes as the humble potato. One minute it's a staple food source packed with goodness, the other it's nothing more than a lump of carbohydrates heralding all sorts of maladies.
In South Africa, a recent event in the media reinvigorated the debate. Tim Noakes, the Professor of Sports Science at UCT, appeared on Carte Blanche passionately presenting the benefits of a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet. More importantly, he suggested that guidelines recommending carbohydrates should form the basis of a healthy diet could in fact be behind the high levels of obesity and other lifestyle health problems that are evident in South Africa.
He has since emphasised a point made in the interview that his
He’s just not that into psychology
Abstract: Psychology, it seems, has been hijacked by TV writers of female angst...
Maybe it says something about the male human condition that when I die I want to do so in a blaze of glory, saving a toddler from an oncoming train, wrestling a Great White shark, or attempting to defuse a bomb with nothing but a pair of tweezers and nerves of steel. I didn't think it would be clutching my chest whilst crouched next to the psychology section in Exclusive Books. But it seems I have the female human condition to thank for that.
When I left school I chose to study clinical psychology because it sounded cool. It was also, I believed at the time, a great place to meet girls. Most of my schoolmates had chosen to study science or engineering, and I certainly didn't fancy my university career
“But it’s in the public interest”. Really?
Abstract: Heads up if you're in corporate communications - the media have a sneaky weapon...
If I had 5c for every time I had been misquoted in the press, you wouldn't be reading this. I'd be wallowing on a world cruise, travelling first class, sunning myself on deck, sipping Harvey Wallbangers and collecting cherries in my navel. But I have, and I'm not, and you're about to be the beneficiary.
It's been said that I have been shaping public opinion as both a broadcaster and columnist for well over 20 years, but not everything has gone smoothly. Just as I have made comment about public events, I have been the focus of public opinion, most of it entertaining, some of it unjustified and quite hurtful, and as such, I have a renowned love-hate relationship with the media.
So why am I telling you this? Because
The handbag in your brain
Abstract: Sex, the handbag and neuroscience - they're all connected...
There are few things more frightening for a man than being caught in the threshold of a full-on, high-end sales fracas, where branded handbags have been slashed in price, and where women have been unleashed to consume. The resulting frenzied whirr of claws, teeth and spittle can cause irreparable harm; and it's all being driven by an animal instinct.
I doubt few women fully understand what is behind the madness that erupts at a high-end sale, and especially around handbags; but it's a wonderful examination of the more baser instincts of human behaviour; and lying, grinning and inviting, at it's very centre is our old friend - sex.
As a science journalist and scholar of human psychology, I am fascinated at what drives human behaviour, and especially intrigued at the neurological triggers; i.e. events in
The annoying and inspiring voice of women
Abstract: Women - the cause of all the trouble, the solution to a problem...
It was quite a while ago that women were the cause of all trouble, and not so long ago that the very sound of their voices would curl your toes; but now they are deservedly stepping to the fore, and our future is tied very much in their throats.
According to Greek mythology, Zeus was so incensed with man, that he sent something that would be man's great undoing: woman, and her name was Pandora. It's easy to chuckle at the far-fetched ramblings of the writers of Greek mythology, but let's not forget that according to the Bible, woman, represented by Eve, was the one that wreaked things for man in the Garden of Eden. As a result, millennia of Western and Middle-Eastern history have viewed women as second-class citizens,
So men only use 10% of their brains?
Abstract: I think we need to nip this one in the bud right away...
If you nodded when you read this headline, then I'm afraid you must believe that a prince in Nigeria has left you a fortune and simply needs your banking details to make payment. You see this also an urban myth. However, it's one that masks an insidious undercurrent of dark forces, more attractive than your typical 419 scam, yet equally primed to rob you of your money.
I overheard this gem one day while sipping a cappuccino and pondering upon the topic for my next column. Two women, flushed from a busy morning's shopping had collapsed into chairs at the table beside me. They were speaking loudly for no other reason other than to emphasise their frustration with the attention (or not) of a male shop assistant.
It's at moments like
Hello, you’re a lab rat!
Abstract: The world's biggest scientific experiment has you running in a maze...
It's easy to look at your life, see the trappings of modern day living and think you're a significant player in the world around you. Little do you realise that you're playing just a minute role in a very, very large scientific experiment. Hello. You're a lab rat.
If I were to ask you what you thought was the biggest, most sophisticated science experiment in the world, you'd probably take a stab at that 'God Particle collider thing somewhere in Europe' or maybe 'that telescope they want to build in the Karoo'. Wrong. They pale into utter insignificance compared to a giant experiment happening closer to home. In fact, it's in your home. It's you.
Puzzled? That's part of the experiment. Just go with the flow. I'll take a stab at explaining it.
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