Anyone who has ever ventured into the realms of science, religion, mysticism or philosophy will have encountered their fair share of paradoxes: apparent contradictions that highlight where our understanding is insufficient to grasp a deeper truth. That’s the case here, …

Fun with physics: the spinning disc paradox Read more »

I’ve plumbed the depths of Knovel before now but having just chatted with the lovely lady from Elsevier who teaches people like your lecturers about the latest developments in our academic information resources, I wanted to pass on news of these latest exciting new tools and features that have been added recently.

Happy International Women’s Day2023! This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquality because everyone starts from a different starting point, and so offering the same opportunities to everyone benefits only those lucky enough to find themselves able to take advantage of them.

Like diamonds, few pearls today are found by chance. Unlike diamonds, which can be manufactured on demand in a laboratory, pearls are still grown organically. Literally, they are grown inside of shellfish in response to a deliberately introduced irritant. I would sign off here saying ‘the rest is history’ but as this video shows, the process is actually surprisingly involved and painstaking care has to be taken to ensure a smooth, even, entire pearl is produced every time. It’s truly an expert process.

Interested in witnessing the cutting edge of design technology and its creative uses? The Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) faculty Research Excellence Framework (REF) showcase will be on display at the Institute of Marine Sciences next Thursday, 9 March 2023. They’ve even laid on a free bus to take you there.

Online, no-one knows you are an AI.

Don’t trust anything ChatGPT tells you. It might well find nothing of relevance, panic and start making stuff up. Only, it will give you beautiful quotes, citations and references for the things it made up in a very polished and convincing way. The only snag is that it will all be meaningless or just plain wrong. Today’s AI cannot carry out the critical research required for your assignments (or research papers!) in the way you can. They are tools with a very specific purpose and asking them to do more than they were designed for – asking them to research or write your assignments, for instance – quickly exposes their limitations.