I write and present shows about science for adults and children. Head to the website for more details about booking a visit to your company, school, science festival or convention. “Soper is a truly talented presenter.” Borders Science Festival
@GlasgowCC Please thank your workmen for not jackhammering outside Cessnock Subway at 11.30pm. Is it normal practice to seat sign posts by pouring dry cement around them then pouring water on top? And why don’t you fit the signs to the pole before you cement it in?
English teachers are being pressured to return to work. They must stand firm. 1. If it’s too dangerous for MPs to get any closer it is too dangerous for teachers. 2. If it’s too dangerous to see see your own kids it’s too dangerous to see 15+ others. 3. They owe Gove *nothing*.
Teachers and SMTs: until your school can be safely run like the House of Commons, or Parliament decides it’s safe for MPs to sit next to each other again, resist the pressure to be dangerously forced back into the classroom. #COVID19
I’m posting these two different ways of representing the UK deaths because it’s important to realise the logarithmic scale can give false reassurance. The graph on the left is how you’d have drawn it at school. Keep safe, keep distancing. #covid19 https://t.co/LvHYZvwLbh…
I’ve put a pdf with advice for the elderly about #COVID19. It’s from a UK perspective but feel free to read and share as widely as possible. https://t.co/haKUKGJZ9B
This is an excellent 5 min video showing how germs spread. I challenge you to watch it and feel safe touching that escalator handrail or the ATM keypad or even the people you love before washing after you’ve been out of the house ever again. #COVID19 https://t.co/7jBp32HF43
When the dust settles irresponsibility like this will seem shocking. Is there a better definition of an unnecessary journey or failure to socially distance than “popping into Pret for a sandwich and a coffee”? Wake up! This is a SARS virus. Stop all breathing on or near others!!
The report can be read in many different ways, but fundamentally, it confirms that we are facing a series of uncomfortable options within a continuum ranging from paying a heavy death toll right now vs. an uncertain and possibly even worse future. (11/15)
I have written some Teacher notes about #COVID19, there are activities teachers and patents can easily do there too. Please visit https://t.co/dOtqWKJ0LY where you can read and download them for free. Please share this with anyone you think might be interested. Stay safe. James
What happens next is up to YOU. You, the worker going in when you don’t need to. You, the boss insisting staff come in. You, the skeptic who’s decided no one can be trusted not even the medics who’ve dedicated their lives to studying this. It’s up to YOU! https://t.co/uEMd1N0a9d
The tube is 1/2 full at 59mins. It doubles every minute, remember? At 58mins it’s 1/4 full. At 55mins it’s just 1/32nd or 3% full but in only 5mins the tube will be totally full! Just because nothing is happening fast now you must still act. #COVID19 grows exponentially.
Human brains are rubbish at understanding exponential growth: Imagine a single bacteria in a test tube filled with food. It splits (ie doubles in number) every minute and after 1hr the test tube is totally full of bacteria. When is the test tube half full? 1/2
An interesting video about Chinese “wet markets” and the potential source of Covid-19. https://t.co/hwvZilG69e NB: I’m not a specialist so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this material. If this is incorrect please let me know and I’ll delete it.
If anyone needs a science show this Science Week please get in contact. Two big events have been cancelled due to Covid-19 so I am unexpectedly free for the rest of the week! If you think you might know someone who needs a show please pass this on to them. Many thanks. JS
The top left image is the 1st woman in space: Valentina Tereshkova. She didn't just blast off then return in the same capsule. On the way down she had to unstrap herself, jump out 4 miles above the Earth and then parachute down because the Russians hadn't worked out how to land!
Happy #InternationalWomensDay! As of March 2020, 65 women have flown in space. Of these, 38 have worked long-duration aboard the @Space_Station. Their achievements will contribute to landing the first woman and next man on the Moon as part of #Artemis. https://t.co/LMtmwTX6VE
#winterwatch There are “magazine shows” then there are what I describe as “pot pourri” shows. Tonight’s episode is pot pourri, jumping from unrelated topic to unrelated topic. We need a theme that’s stronger than “we’re in Scotland in winter” to stop it being so confusing.
Bullet shockwaves traveling slower and faster than the speed of sound as revealed by Schlieren photography and Smarter Every Day. https://t.co/oGEGN9pFtl