The [harebrained] proposal of Boris Johnson to return to so-called imperial measurements or units illustrates [beyond his usual flair for spinning out of yet-another-scandal] an all-too-common innumeracy of politicians (and possibly a lingering anti-French sentiment as metric units were introduced by the French Revolution), preferring to cater to their Brexit voters rather than realising the drawbacks and costs of a parallel system of measurements, as illustrated by the 1999 Orbiter crash. Does he plan to exit the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures as well?! Or does he expect an improvement in numeracy with the public using different bases (other than 10) at
ounce once?!
Archive for UK politics
BoJo’s return to no-future
Posted in Books, Kids with tags 20 May 1875, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Bureau international des poids et mesures, EU, European Union, French Revolution, imperial measures, innumeracy, Mars Climate Orbiter, metric units, NASA, UK politics on June 13, 2022 by xi'ansunset on the horizon…
Posted in pictures, Travel, University life with tags Adrian Smith, better together, Brexit, ERC, EU, European Research Council, Horizon Europe, Royal Society, UK, UK politics on June 6, 2022 by xi'an“The window for association is closing fast, and we need to ensure that political issues do not get in the way of a sensible solution. We have always been very clear that association is the preferred outcome for protecting decades of collaborative research, and the benefits this has brought to people’s lives across the continent and beyond.” Adrian Smith
As reported in the Guardian of today a terrible impact of BoJo’s Vote Leave Brexit the UK Government failing to implement the Northern Ireland protocol is that this threatens ERC funding for UK scientists, as the associate membership of Horizon Europe was part of the Brexit negociations, whose “deal” has been delayed because of this. About a hundred new ERC grant recipients who are currently located in the UK have to either relocate to (eager) EU universities or to give up this most prestigious funding…
Stick to Science [week of action]
Posted in University life with tags action, benefits, ERC, EU, EU politics, science collaboration, Stick to Science, Switzerland, UK, UK politics on April 3, 2022 by xi'anno haggis for Burns night!
Posted in Statistics with tags Brexit, Burns night, Christchurch, customs, EU, European Union, food shortage, haggis, M&S, Mark&Spencer, New Zealand, Paris, Robert Burns, Scotland, UK politics, University of Canterbury on January 25, 2021 by xi'anGhost Town [The Specials]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Coventry, Margaret Thatcher, Ska, The Specials, UK, UK politics on June 20, 2020 by xi'an