Healthy Eating – Measuring the Goodness

We may well be familiar with the expression that you can’t compare apples with oranges, but can you compare bananas with bananas? Certainly apples are very different from oranges, making any comparison difficult. But bananas are - seemingly - very similar to one another, so can you compare them in terms of their health benefits, … Continue reading Healthy Eating – Measuring the Goodness →

Genetic Engineering: Essential and Inevitable

One thing that is apparent from our longer lifespans is that, as we age, the human form is prone to many genetically driven debilitating conditions. In other words, the longer we live the more likely we are to succumb to some genetically prescribed condition, notably cancers and degenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s. Similarly, throughout our … Continue reading Genetic Engineering: Essential and Inevitable →

Taxation by Stealth – Hiding the Burden

Governments are often criticised for raising taxes by stealth – perhaps by not adjusting thresholds in line with inflation or by hiding tax changes in the small print of a budget - but the problem is much more fundamental than that. The whole system by which the government seeks to raise revenues is actually built … Continue reading Taxation by Stealth – Hiding the Burden →

The Essence of Teaching Good Behaviour

All good parents and teachers will know that it is easier to train someone to do something than it is to train them not to do something. This is because it is much simpler to encourage and incentivise positive behaviour than it is to discourage unwanted behaviour. Getting desirable behaviour is readily achievable through positive … Continue reading The Essence of Teaching Good Behaviour →

Human Evolution – Past Success; Future Uncertainty.

Humanity – we’re doing alright. In fact, we’re probably doing better than alright. We’ve been around awhile and, generally, our existence has not been too much in doubt. This is because, over the years, thousands of years, we have put ourselves in a strong evolutionary position. As a species, at some point in our development … Continue reading Human Evolution – Past Success; Future Uncertainty. →

What’s in a Job Title?

Over the last few years there has been a trend to give people fancier job titles. The job role will not have changed, merely the title of the job. Sales people have become Sales Executives. Cleaners have become Cleaning Operatives. Receptionists have become Front Desk Executives. Sandwich makers have become Sandwich Artists. The reasoning behind … Continue reading What’s in a Job Title? →

Death – it’s a Matter of Timing

There’s a natural order to life, rules which we expect to follow, principles which are generally accepted: Older people should die before younger ones. Healthy people should live longer than those who have lived an unhealthy life. Children should not die before their parents. Unfortunately, these rules do not always apply. There are no guarantees … Continue reading Death – it’s a Matter of Timing →