The Wiki Man
The meeting of minds
I learned a great deal at university, about half of it from a man called Raymond Foulk. Ray was not…
Above the laws
Fairly early in the pandemic it was widely accepted in scientific circles that the likelihood of outdoor transmission of Covid…
Taking back control
A friend of mine recently visited a company in Europe which plans to manufacture human-carrying, pilotless drones. These would be…
When push comes to shove
One thing that surprised every-one during lockdown was how many people derived unexpected pleasure from living under imposed restrictions. Can…
What will you buy that others won’t?
In 1966, the legendary adman David Ogilvy set out to buy a home in France. He boarded a transatlantic liner…
Sometimes wrongs make a right
It is interesting to consider what would have happened if the Covid virus had emerged in 1921. Or 1821. Or…
The whole picture
There’s an intriguing conversation on YouTube between Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, and the artist Damien…
The brave new world of work
Is flexible working better or worse for productivity? What is the correct blend of remote and office work? Billions of…
Do go changing
I have been on holiday for two weeks. Well, not quite. You see, a bloke I once met told me…
A cocktail of errors
I often argue that, in theory at least, well-made cocktails are indisputably better than wines costing 20 times more. My…
Signal failure
Why does virtue-signalling matter? It’s a fair question. After all, if people display virtuous behaviour, need we care about their…
The bonkers credentials game
Sometimes the opposite of a good idea is, as Niels Bohr said, another good idea. But the converse is also…
Why I won’t buy a Tesla
I loved the Ford Mustang Mach-E which I had on loan for four days. It was gorgeous to drive, and…
A battery of joy
Where do you want to go? China or India? I have always found India infinitely more fascinating — for a…
Taking charge
As a wise colleague once said: ‘Yesterday is a great time to buy a computer, because you have already enjoyed…
Routine procedures
Among the horrors, some aspects of lockdown were bizarrely less gruelling than expected; indeed for some people, the experience was…
The tech trap
Back in late 2019 I met someone from Zoom who was visiting London. The company, then as now, offered free…
Internet connection
Dear Sir, I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust…
Language barriers
I haven’t yet read the report published by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. But, looking at the recommendations,…
The power of the Oxford brand
I am writing with a mild pain in one arm, having received my first dose of the Oxford vaccine yesterday…
Cross purposes
I was once asked by a previous editor of the Timeshow to increase sales of the paper. I was slightly…
Opportunity knocks
There is a kind of conversation which sounds intelligent, and which makes sense at first hearing, but which deeper thought…
City limits
The phrase ‘rich people’s problems’ has its uses. I once overheard a group in a Knightsbridge restaurant sympathising with a…
Urban legends
In March last year, the world made an interesting discovery. We found that a high proportion of knowledge-work could be…
Flights of fancy
Soon after the pandemic hit, the world’s airlines turned off their pricing algorithms and resumed pricing flights manually. Everything the…
