Problem Solving 101

Usually when I write about a book that I have read I am writing from a perspective of having enjoyed reading it or, at least, having found it useful. Sadly, this time this isn’t the case. I came across the book “Problem Solving 101” by Ken Watanabe via Dan Roam’s Digital Roam website and because I had enjoyed Roam’s own book “The Back of a Napkin” I thought I would trust his recommendation… PS101 is a book about problem solving but it is written for children (this could be the root of my problem with it…). However, it is described as an adult bestseller “thanks to the powerful effectiveness” of the techniques it describes. I should have been more suspicious of that “adult bestseller” bit. PS101 is just too simplistic, rather silly and, in truth, doesn’t really provide anything that could be described as a powerful technique. As I read the book I was left with no feeling that there was any evidence to suggest that the stories being told had to turn out the way that they did because of the powerful problem solving techniques and that they could just as easily ended up with the child or children involved failing miserably to solve their problem(s). So for me this book was a dud although there is one thing good about it – it’s one of those small, perfectly formed hardback books with nice paper that just feels and looks good – it’s just a shame about what is inside.

Methane from the Arctic seafloor

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, so the addition of methane to the atmosphere is bad news for global warming and climate change (froma human perspective). Recent observations suggest that warming of the waters of the Arctic Ocean is triggering the release of plumes of gas (mostly methane) from beneath the seafloor into the ocean water column. So far there is no evidence that the gas is entering the atmosphere but some of it is converted to carbon dioxide which raises the acidity of the water. There is a brief report on this in New Scientist, Issue 2722 [22 August 2009] and a more lengthy piece, complete with a spectacular picture, on the BBC Website [18 August 2009].

The Best A Man Can Get

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading John O’Farrell’s book “The Best A Man Can Get”. It tells the story of a married man with two young children and a third on the way who has set up a second life in which he goes to work writing advertising jingles whilst living a lazy and relaxed life in a room in a rented house with three other blokes. The idea is that he has got it all, a family life that he can return to for a few days at a time and a “single-bloke” life that he can escape to from the family life. Not surprisingly, in the end he gets found out and it all goes horribly wrong but in ther process he discovers much. It’s an amusing book at times but also rather painful to read – many of the observations do ring true though…

Marine life mixes oceans

One of my colleagues carries out research examining the small scale mixing processes that go on in the oceans. He uses a complicated camera system with lasers and holograms and maps out the swirling motion of the water by tracking particles in the water [see here]. In the past he has ended up with some interesting pictures of little (microscopic) creatures in the water and he has begun to think about how these creatures stir up the oceans as they move around.

So, it was interesting when news of some research conducted in California broke recently. The work has measured the effect that jellyfish swimming in weater have on the mixing of the water water itself. Jellyfish were used because they are relatively simple and can be simulated in models quite well but the principle of ocean mixing by organisms is being considered more widely. In fact, the idea was suggested by Charles Darwin’s grandson some time ago. It turns out that the new research suggests that the mixing could be significant although the extrpolation to all ocean-going organisms, in particular the really small ones (of which there are huge numbers) is a rather uncertain process. It has been suggested that this organismal mixing could be as big as that produced by the other key mixing processes – wind and ocean tides. The result won’t change the results of ocean models because these work by adding in as much mixing as is necessary to get the “right” results but it may point a way to understanding global ocean mixing more thoroughly and it suggests that my colleague’s potential to view the water motion around smaller organisms might be a really fruitful direction to go in.

The research is reported in New Scientist, Issue 2719 [01 August 2009] and also on the BBC Website [29 July 2009].

Sharpe’s Escape

Over the last few years I have been working my way through Bernard Cornwell ‘s “Sharpe” series of novels. Richard Sharpe is an English soldier from the early part of the 19th century fighting battles in India, Denmark, Portugal and ultimately France (though I haven’t got this far yet). Each book follows a basic pattern – you know that Sharpe isn’t going to get killed and that the English will win so the drama always comes from two sources – i) there’s always someone, often on his own side, who Sharpe gets into a personal feud with who ultimately gets their comeuppence and ii) there’s always a girl who despite her best intentions to do otherwise falls for Sharpe (it’s just a question of how many pages into the book this happens). So the Sharpe novels are highly formulaic, but because of this picking one up to read is like getting in touch with an old friend and Bernard Cornwell is undoubtedly a master of the genre. Sharpe’s Escape is set in Portugal and involves Sharpe and his companions effecting a rather messy escape froma tight spot to re-join the English and Portuguese armies as they hold the French at bay north of Lisbon. I’m reading the series in historical order (not the order they were written) – so far it has been Sharpe’s… Tiger – Triumph – Fortress – Trafalgar – Prey – Rifles – Havoc – Eagle – Gold – Escape… next comes Fury.

Linked Archive page added

WordPress (or rather the clever people who have developed and run the WordPress blogging service) have just introduced a neat feature that provides an archive list of all blog posts that have been made with a link provided for each entry. I already have a clunky “hand-made” Contents page which lists all of the entries without links but with a very brief description of their contents but I think I will keep this going alongside a separate listing using the new WordPress feature. So, my “Contents” page remains but has been joined by a new “Linked Archive” page. Both are available via the General Information list over there →

MovieWatch page added

I’m not a big cinema-goer and don’t seem to find much time to watch films at home on television but given my penchant for recording things I thought it would be appropriate to start a “MovieWatch” page on this site in which I record films that I have seen. It will quickly become apparent that most of the films I watch, particularly those I watch in the cinema, match the ages of my children. You can access the MovieWatch page via the link in the General Information list over there →

Raindrops are falling…

As I write this it is pouring with rain and has been for several hours. It is what seems to have become a typical summer’s day… But what do raindrops actually look like as they fall? A recent news item on the BBC Website (20 July 2009) reports on new research that has used high-speed cameras to film falling drops of water and the result is some fascinating footage of complex deformation and break-up (there is a viewable clip that accompanies the news item). It is thought that the research might improve rainfall models although apparently the drops used are on the large size for typical UK rain.

Spare a thought for sea grass

It is common knowledge that coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems are under threat but it is less well known that sea grass meadows are also struggling. Sea grass  is found in shallow coastal waters across the whole planet and are important as a refuge for crustaceans, young fish and larger creatures such as dugongs and turtles. A recent meta-analysis (pooling data from 215 regional studies from 1879 to 2006) has revealed that the total area of seagrass meadows has declined by 29% since 1879. It is thought that much of the damage is done by sediment dumping, pollution and nutrient run-off which decrease water quality, starving the sea grass of the sunlight it needs to grow. The research is highlighted in New Scientist, Issue 2716 [11 July 2009].