Two events this week remind me that we cannot believe everything we see or hear. And perhaps more pointedly how much of a news story might we not hear. In turn the omission of information can colour our impression without anything “false” being said. Regular readers...
With all the hype and paranoia about parenting and the dangers faced by children, it is really good when some facts emerge. Figures published in The Economist reveal that children in the 1950’s were five times more likely to die before age five than today. Yet as it...
I read an interesting article by writer Brendan O’Neill about trust. Essentially he made the point that in the UK, officialdom had fostered a climate of mistrust. “The institutions and organisations which crow most loudly about a crisis of trust are the same...
Fire is something, which if used correctly enhances our lives by keeping us warm and cooking our food. Uncontrolled it can burn the house or destroy wide areas. Hence fire is not intrinsically a good or bad thing. It is also not avoidable or entirely controllable. The...
Over the weekend I saw an article claiming that 70% of Australians wanted something done about gambling. As usual that “something” is code for government intervention of some description. The end result is generally inconvenience for the majority with no impact on the...
We have a tendency to think that everything which is new, as an improvement on that which is old. Whilst new inventions can improve our lives I am talking about changing things that work quite well for no reason other than something new has turned up. Previously I...
