Six-minute summary: Marie Tharp

Hello readers! It’s time for the final six-minute summary of 2025. We’ll be exploring the pioneering work of Marie Tharp, an American geologist and cartographer who created the first maps of the sea floor. She did this in the 1950s, without any computer assistance, by interpreting thousands of depth measurements collected by research ships. Her … Continue reading Six-minute summary: Marie Tharp →

An 18th century map that changed science

Hello readers! It’s time for some more historical science. This week, we’ll explore how the creation of a map in 18th century France changed the way that scientists viewed the world. The map covered the Auvergne region, which contains the Chaîne des Puys – a line of conical hills that are now known to have … Continue reading An 18th century map that changed science →

Six-minute summary: Niels Bohr

Hello readers! It is time for another six-minute summary. This week, in response to a reader request, we will be learning about the life of Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist who made huge discoveries regarding quantum mechanics and the structure of atoms. Although his name will be very familiar to physicists (and Danes), it might … Continue reading Six-minute summary: Niels Bohr →

Learning from old science books: Part Three

Hello readers! This week is the final instalment in a three-part series on a Victorian science book: Principles of Geology, by Charles Lyell. In the last two posts we explored the chapters on climate and evolution, and discussed how our understanding has changed over the last 200 years thanks to technological advancements and conceptual breakthroughs. … Continue reading Learning from old science books: Part Three →

Learning from old science books: Part Two

Hello readers! In the last post, we dived into a Victorian science textbook: Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology, from 1830. We explored the state of the geological sciences 200 years ago, and acquainted ourselves with the intellectual battle between the vulcanists and neptunists (which was a lot less science-fiction than it sounds, and fought with … Continue reading Learning from old science books: Part Two →

Learning from old science books: Part One

Hello readers! Last week I read a Victorian geology book – possibly one of the most influential science books ever written. Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell introduced a relatively young field to a general audience, and solidified geology as a science in its own right, rather than as a mere rock collecting exercise. It … Continue reading Learning from old science books: Part One →

Six-minute summary: Ada Lovelace

Hello readers! It’s time for a six-minute summary. Ada Lovelace was one of the first computer programmers – an impressive achievement, given that she was born in 1815, well over a century before the modern concept of a "computer” was established. She worked with the eminent mathematician Charles Babbage, who had designed an “Analytical Engine” … Continue reading Six-minute summary: Ada Lovelace →

Six-minute summary: James Croll

Hello readers! This week, I’m summarising the life of a lesser-known scientist. James Croll was once a big name in the British scientific community, exchanging ideas with contemporaries such as Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin. He was a physicist, geologist, and mathematician – but when he published his first paper, he was employed only as … Continue reading Six-minute summary: James Croll →

Six-minute summary: Alfred Wegener

Hello readers! Thought I'd try something different again today (nothing like a bit of consistency to keep the audience engaged). You might have noticed that the title utilises an arbitrary amount of time in order to attain alliterative flow, from which it is embarrassingly obvious that I needed a snappy name for a new type … Continue reading Six-minute summary: Alfred Wegener →