University Challenge has been on our television screens since 1962. I recall watching it a few years later, and as parodied in The Young Ones, always believed that the two teams sat one on top of the other. The original question master was the wonderfully named Bamber Gascoigne, who was a central casting pick for… Continue Reading →

Economists: the financial world’s very own illusionists. They stride around in suits, waving graphs like magic wands, solemnly declaring what will happen to your mortgage rate because a butterfly sneezed in Beijing. Except… they can’t actually predict anything. Economists don’t forecast; they improvise. They stare at numbers until the numbers stare back, then announce —… Continue Reading →

Communication differentiates us from all the other species on the planet. Yes, others can exchange information, and chat, but the development of our ability to use language was central to our development. From the early beginnings of civilisation, humans began working together, in teams, to go from making stone tools to the present day when… Continue Reading →

I am an individual. So are you. We are all individuals. Or so we think. So, I will take a moment to challenge myself on my individuality, my creativity, my freedom to make my own choices, the reason I make my own decisions. And very quickly I realise that the concept of being an individual… Continue Reading →

I got interested in Napoleon when I was around 28, which is now 37 years ago. I was intrigued by looking at what I had achieved by that age (not much) and how a man who wasn’t even French had managed to be on the road to ruling Europe. It was the start of an… Continue Reading →