Abstract: No, Steve jobs was not a good leader...
It was over fifteen years ago when I bought my first Apple computer. It was a blue iMac - a thing of surreal beauty. At a time of beige boxes and a jungle of cables, the simple translucent coloured curves that was my computer oozed a combination of sex and sophistication. OK, so maybe that's a bit overboard, but it does personify the unremitting, innovative leadership that helped create a highly successful company, but not necessarily one that was good.
I was a Mac addict back in the days when it was still a designer fix - the sole reserve of creatives who valued inspiration and innovation over pure operational functionality. My company at that time was creating experimental products that would later leapfrog over a competitor's more staid offering; and as such I worked
Is a successful business leader necessarily good?
Everything gives you cancer…and also helps you live longer
Abstract: Why everything gives you cancer...and also helps you live longer...
There can be few things guaranteed to put off a potential reader of an article more than the headline 'Everything gives you cancer', especially in a Sunday newspaper magazine where they're looking for something light, relaxing and entertaining to read. So let me rise to the challenge; besides something tells me you already have a sneaking suspicion where this story is heading.
One of the biggest challenges for science journalists such as myself - those who dabble at the craggy interface of science and society - is that every time we write something we have to win over an audience who may not necessarily be interested in science. We have to do so by writing wonderfully engaging copy and surreptitiously slipping in a little science. It's like wrapping a pill in bacon so
The wretched imbalance of popular interest
Abstract: The tragic tale of two tweeters exposes the imbalance of popular interest...
For those interested in following someone else's thoughts, there is little to beat Twitter. Unfortunately it's dominated by the followers of so-called reality; when in fact the true stories are found in real life.
I am willing to bet all the money I have that the typical fan of Kim Kardashian has never heard of Tony Nicklinson. For those clever enough to shun reality TV, Kim Kardashian is the undisputed queen of this turgid genre of entertainment. She is a celebrity because she is on TV and she is on TV because she is a celebrity. She busies herself shopping, having her nails and hair done, and enduring the 'OMG' rigours of a celebrity lifestyle.
The good news is that evolution will eventually trim the human species of her ilk; the bad
A lesson in leadership from Douglas Adams
Abstract: The true power of a leader's voice lies in a lesson from science and space...
There's a pivotal saying in the world of journalism: content is king, context in King Kong. In brief it means that whereas what is said in a burst of text is important, its accuracy and correct interpretation - and therefore its impact - is ensured only if it is placed within the correct frame of reference. This same saying should be the preface of every handbook on sound leadership.
Like every other science journalist I whooped with joy and punched the air when the Mars Curiosity rover completed its treacherous voyage to the red planet and settled, on cue, into its predetermined landing area. It was the accumulation of years of commitment, insight and wisdom from hundreds of dedicated scientists and thinkers from all over the world. The
Fairer sex? Yeah, sure
Abstract: There is nothing fair about the so-called fairer sex...
Now that we're into the final week of Womens' Month, perhaps we can finally say goodbye to that phrase that has everything, and nothing, to do with women: the wholly inaccurate, grossly outdated and altogether condescending epithet: 'the fairer sex'.
I can imagine you've gathered by now that I find the phrase 'the fairer sex' more than a little jarring. Every time I hear it being used it has the effect of someone tapping me very firmly on my forehead. It's not hurtful, but it is highly irritating and completely out of place in polite social discourse.
Yet, it's somehow still hanging around, resolutely hooked into popular discussion; and it seems to be used, often a little too casually, to somehow encapsulate everything that is 'woman'. It worms its way into sentences such as, "We
What’s in a woman’s name?
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
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