The Infinite Monkey Cage is a BBC Radio 4 programme/podcast described as 'Brian Cox and Robin Ince host a witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.' Each episode has a topic, and presenters Prof. Brian Cox (University of Manchester and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science) and Robin Ince are joined by a panel that usually includes a mixture of working scientists and lay people (such as comedians).
Episodes can be accessed via the webpage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w
The show is recorded with an audience. At the end of an episode a selection of audience responses to a posed question are read out. These often include references to/jokes about Prof. Cox; and a running theme is responses that offer a pun on the song title 'Things can only get better' – a hit for the group 'D:Ream' for whom Cox played keyboards.
The programme is widely considered to be engaging and entertaining while dealing with serious scientific topics and philosophical issues.
A simile is a comparson marked explicitly (an atom is like a tiny solar system), but a metaphor is presented as if an identifiy (an atom is a tiny solar system) leaving the audience to recognise this is figurtive and not meant literally.
However, often in texts once a simile has been introduced, it is subsequently used without being marked as such, i.e., it is presented as a metaphor, an d the reader/hearer is expected to recall the temr is being used figuratively.
e.g., see: spacecraft 'sniffed' the asteroid's scent
Room 5 is a BBC Radio 4 programme/podcast, subtitled 'Medical mysteries'. The series description is :
"One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor's surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In Room 5, she interviews people who – like her – were changed by a diagnosis."
'Room 5' series webpage
'In Our Time' is a BBC Radio 4 programme and podcast, hosted by Melvyn Bragg (Baron Bragg of Wigton). Each episode tackles a topic with contributions from three specialists, with Lord Bragg introducing the topic and asking questions of his guests
There have been over a thousand episodes broadcast, and these can be accessed from the website. The topics are organised into a number of genres (culture, history, philosophy, religion, science).
Programmes homepage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl
Archive of programmes with science themes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01gyd7j
Prioritsing and valuing a human-centred perspective. For example, considering issues of development and conservation in terms of what is directly useful and valuable to humans, rather than consdering wider impacts.
This entry refers to (1) the principle and (2) the radio programme
1. Occam's/Ockham's razor is a principle named after William of Ockham to the effect that when there are several mooted explanations for a natural phenomenon the simplest one is to be preferred. This is not a formal methodological rule, but simply a heuristic.
2. Ockham's Razor is also the name of an ABC Radio National programme/podcast (website: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ockhamsrazor) which acts as a "a soap box for all things scientific, with short talks about research, industry and policy from people with something thoughtful to say about science".
Science in Action is a weekly radio programme and podcast, broadcast by BBC World Service. It is a science news magazine programme – normally reporting on several stories each episode. Over 1300 past episodes can be accessed from the website at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002vsnb.
BBC Inside Science is a weekly radio programme and podcast, broadcast by BBC Radio 4. It is a science news magazine programme – normally reporting on several stories each episode. Over 500 past episodes can be accessed from the website at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036f7w2.
The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (commonly 'A level') is a qualification in the English school system. Students typically study 3-4 A level subjects from ages 16-19. Admission to A level courses depends on success in national school examinations at age 16.
A levels have for many years been considered the main indicator of suitability for university study (sometimes labelled as 'the gold standard'), and although other qualifications are considered, university entrance acquirements are often discussed in terms of the required A level grades (e.g. AAB, BBB, CDD) for different institutions and courses.
A bimonthly magazine for teachers of chemistry published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and distributed free of charge to teachers in the UK and Eire.
The term 'ad hoc' means something done or established for an immediate need (e.g., an ad hoc committee as opposed to a standing committee that is permanent.)
In research 'ad hoc' assumptions are those made to explain why observations do not match those anticipated on the basis of a hypothesis – they may sometimes be justified (they can be treated as hypotheses for further investigation), but can also be used to explain away undesirable results. It has therefore been suggested that "ad hoc explanations are very much like excuses" (Mario Bunge).
A common idea, that was influential for many centuries, was that there was a continuum of beings from the most base to the most perfect (i.e., God). Supposedly, humans were in the middle of the chain with various supernatural beings above them (different classes of angels) with all other living things making up lower links in the chain (or steps on the ladder). This perspective coloured how people thought about species and the possibility of evolution of natural kinds.