We recently received a note from the United States Professional Sales Organization (UPSA), an organization hitherto unknown to us. It says, in part: Dear UPSA Member: First of all, to those who have participated in the recent PhD survey — thank you! We have no way of knowing who you are to exclude you from […]
Year: 2007
The parallel adventures of Matt Talbot
Matt Talbot’s corpse-girdling chains and cords are what attracted scholars’ attention. But those scholars, like almost everyone else, utterly ignored the man while he was alive. Later, when analysts wrote about Talbot, some did it with reverence, others with joking contempt. The two camps agree on the basic facts, but differ utterly on the explanation…. […]
Donor stool triumphant
IN THE annals of medical history, this could go down as one of the most effective but stomach-churning treatments ever devised. Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces. Trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from the Clostridium difficile bug can be cured using ‘donor […]
Paris, citizen-scientist of light
The modern version of the experiment looks like this. First, we need a researcher — let’s say, Paris Hilton, just to stretch your powers of imagination a little. Paris sets up a simple light source in front of a barrier with two small slits cut into it, with a light-sensitive screen on the other side […]