During my regular chats with my mum, the conversation quickly turns to her health problems and how her GP has not helped. Yet the health advice from her Chiropodist is fiercely defended when I challenge its scientific basis. Why does the health advice from her Chiropodist, which is anecdotal, have such a strong influence on my mum ?

I remembered listening to a radio programme where the concept of an Uncle Albert Syndrome was discussed. There is a lot of public health information available for example on reducing weight, a balanced diet, increasing exercise, reducing alcohol consumption and how stoping smoking will extend your life. But in every family there is an ‘Uncle Albert’ who drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney and has a balanced diet of cooked breakfast, fish and chips and pies and who is living a healthy life well into their eighties! When compared to public health information, which is science based, many people follow Uncle Albert!

There are many reasons for people relying on their Uncle Albert for health guidance rather than science based health information. For example the reliability of public health information. There seems to be regular headlines that contradict some earlier study. Should we eat more or less butter, drink a glass of red wine per day or abstain, drink more or less coffee? - all of these questions, and many more have swung between yes - maybe - no over the last thirty to forty years.

There are subtle reasons for accepting health evidence from Uncle Albert. In the case of my mum’s Chiropodist, who has many clients, he can gather examples of what medical solutions are working and what is not. With the NHS resources stretched he is filling the gap between them and low level aches and pains that irritate but are not serious enough to book an appointment with the GP.

At the end of my chats with my mum, I usually receive clear instructions to go off and buy whatever her Chiropodist has recommended which luckily only requires a few clicks on a web site. His track record so far is: the special fruit juice for her stomach which didn’t work and had adverse consequences, the copper band for arthritis is still under review and the knee brace to reduce the pain on her knee seems to be working. The easy acceptance of evidence for health of an Uncle Albert is very complex. For many of the complex and serious health problems such as cancer, diabetes etc. then a science based approach will be always be needed. But for the everyday minor aches and pains then it looks as though finding a good Chiropodist could be the best solution.

I recently read about the death of Brain Magee the TV presenter, philosopher, broadcaster, politician and author best known for bringing philosophy to a popular audience. I never met him but I wrote to him and he replied.

In the late seventies television had only a couple of channels and the Radio Times could get all of the programmes on two pages! One day I was quickly scanning through the schedule when I came across Men of Ideas with Brian Magee. The series introduced the audience to philosophy and particular areas such as Marxist philosophy, the Frankfurt School, the ideas of Noam Chomsky and modern Existentialism; all names that sounded strange to me. During each programme, Brian Magee discussed the ideas of the philosophers with a prominent contemporary philosopher in a way that made it accessible. In the late eighties there was a follow up sreies The Great Philosophers, which discussed the major historical figures of Western philosophy with fifteen contemporary philosophers. The series covered the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes, among others, ending with a discussion on the philosophy of Wittgenstein. Both series had a big impact on me and I have read philosophy ever since.

When I read about his death I remembered that I had wrote to him about a few ideas that I had and which should be published. Looking back it makes me laugh at my naivety given how difficult it is writing this blog on a regular basis. In his reply he listed all of the organisations that I could either join or submit an article. But then he went on with some advice:

“Will you permit me to issue a warning? The great danger facing intelligent people who study philosophy alone is that they keep re-inventing the wheel. They get some very good good ideas about something of fundamental importance, which they’ve genuinely thought of themselves, and they get all excited about it and want to tell the world, when it has in fact been a commonplace in the world of ideas for two or three thousand years, and is already familiar to every serious student of the subject. To put the same point another way, if a clever person starts thinking about a particular problem seriously for the first time they are certain implications and certain explanations that will naturally present themselves to him. They are genuinely his, but they have already occurred to most other people who have given similar thoughts to the subject. One has the experience when teaching: all one’s brightest pupils, one after the other, get the same good ideas, and each one thinks he is the first to have thought of it. So think twice before you attempt to rush into publication”

Over the years I have found that his advice has been applicable in other areas other than philosophy when discovering new ideas. A large part of my career has been involved in product development and for every hundred new ideas discovered to improve a product about ninety nine had either been tried before and failed or the competition had developed a better idea. Even today when I am discussing problems and possible solutions involving a new idea a quick search on the web usually finds that it has already been found. However, it is important that people are encouraged to discover and explore ideas for themselves, even if they have already been discovered by others, because of the excitement the discovery brings.

I am indebted to Brian Magee and his TV series and the subsequent books for opening my mind to the world of ideas in philosophy and for the gentle reminder that if I was thinking about publishing any philosophy then I should be prepared for an uphill struggle. I followed his advice and never attempted to publish anything. However, I continue to read philosophy, and if I feel that I have discovered a new idea then I enjoy the moment but quickly realise that I am following in the steps of others!

To watch the BBC series Men of Ideas and The Great Philosophers click here

When researching for a post I sometimes come across an item where a point is made in a clear and precise way that is much better than anything I can pen. This is what happened recently when I was gathering material on a topic about education.

Searching on the web for some background material on the effect of education on peoples lives, I came across a YouTube clip from The Daily Show in 2012 with one of my favourite American comedians Jon Stewart. In the show he usually lambasts rival TV network commentators, celebrities and politicians. But in this clip he was interviewing Malala Yousafzail the girl who was shot by the Taliban for her stance on access to education for her local community in Pakistan.

During the interview Jon asked two important question that highlighted points about the importance of education, the first was:

Jon: “Where did your love of education come from?”

Malala: “We are human beings, and this is the part of human nature. We don’t learn the importance of anything until it is snatched from our hands. When in Pakistan we were stopped from going to school at that time I realised that education is very important. Education is the power for women and that is why the terrorists are afraid of education, they do not want women to get education because women will become more power.”

Towards the end of the interview Jon asked how the American people could help with her campaigning and in Malala’s reply another important point is made:

Malala: “I think that the people of America, the United States, they truly support peace, and they say that they must not fight against war with war, dialogue is the best way and we must find a solution for it. In my opinion the solution that would work to fight all these wars and all these problems that people are facing is only education” and she continued “… going to school is not only learning about different subjects it teaches you about communication, it teaches how to live a life, it teaches about history, it teaches about how science is working, other than that you learn about equality because students are provided the same benches, they sit equally, it shows us equality, it teaches students how to accept each other together how to accept each others language, each others religion, it teaches justice and respect, it teaches us how to live together”

At the end of the interview the comedian was clearly moved by the interview.

In 2014 Malala and Kailash Satyarthi won the Nobel Peace Prize “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” Today the Malala Fund continues its campaign to to get more than 130 million girls into schools, and in her childhood home in the Swat Valley her fund is rebuilding the schools that were destroyed by the Taliban.

Over the years of writing this blog I have learned that when struggling to clarifying a point about a subject sometimes it is better to stand back and let those who know their subject have their voice. In this case Malala she used her experience and courage to make two indisputable points about education.

When Neil Armstrong safely landed himself and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon in 1969, he was rightly hailed as one of the great astronauts. But he was also an inspiration for engineers both young and old and his example is needed even more today for the challenges we face in combating climate change.

Throughout his life Neil Armstrong was passionate about engineering, in particular aeronautical engineering. An old school friend recounts the time when they were trying to make their rubber powered model aeroplanes fly longer. His friend gave his plane a few extra turns on the propellor. But Neil wanted a deeper understanding of how the plane flew and built a small wind tunnel in the basement of his home to test his ideas. When it was switched on it shook the house! His first flight was at age 16 years and he continued flying through his time at university where he studied aerodynamics. He was a combat pilot during the Korean War and when it ended he was a test pilot flying experimental planes such as the X-15 where he caught the attention of NASA. After the successful moon landing he went back to academia and headed the Department of Aeronautics at Cincinati University.

Another aspect of his character was his ability to withstand criticism. When he spoke the famous “One small step for man one giant leap for mankind” he was later challenged that it should have been “one small step for a man!” He maintained that he did say “a man” but due to the transmission the “a” had got lost. The criticism continued throughout his lifetime. Another criticism he faced was about his flying competence. Although he was admired by many colleagues for his technical proficiency with aircraft others, mainly of the ‘top-gun’ type, said that he lacked a natural feel for aircraft. Indeed his involvement in several high-profile near-miss incidents as a test pilot did very little to convince his critics that an engineer belonged in a cockpit.

Finally he had courage. As a combat pilot he was involved in the dangerous task of landing a fighter plane on an aircraft carrier which was usually heaving around on a rough sea! There were many instances when as a test pilot he had to courageously fly planes that were testing the limits of aerodynamic knowledge. His courage came through again when he took the decision to take over from the computer guidance system when landing on the moon. The Apollo Moon Landing project cost billions of dollars and involved over 400,00 people. Its success depended on a safe landing on the moon. The tension during the landed was immense. But he had the courage to take over from the computer guidance system and fly the Apollo Lunar Module by hand to avoid a rocky surface and land safely. The relief back on Earth was tangible with Huston sending a message “ … You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again…”

In summary his career showed a passion for his area of engineering, the ability to withstand criticism and courage to make his own decisions. As the planet faces its greatest challenge from climate change we need engineers to show the same characteristics. They need to have a deep and passionate understanding of the engineering required to develop areas such as health, transportation, infrastructure, energy and information in a way that reduces the impact on the climate. They need the strength of character and courage to face criticism, that will emerge from all quarters, when leading the changes in our way of life that will save ourselves and the planet. Maybe the next gigantic step for mankind will be here on Earth!

To see a rare interview where Neil Armstrong discusses his life then click on the following: Youtube video

Every time I take our car in for its annual MOT I am always intrigued about what the retailer will try and sell me. But recently I misheard their latest sales pitch which created lots of frustration.

The service assistant spotted that our vehicle was over four years old and they would look to see if there were any deals. I immediately launched into why I wasn’t interested in buying a new car at the moment and if I was it would probably be all electric. They replied that the technology continues improving however they would send me some offers via email.

Feeling annoyed that the service assistant hadn’t heard clearly that I was not in the market for a new car I prepared myself to delete a stream of emails offers and headed for a coffee. Later I received an email with an offer of a service plan that would reduce future costs. I had misheard what they were saying as well!

We are in an age where there is a cacophony of information from the media and social media and to manage the overload my attention span is reduced to seconds. Factor in a busy life then it is no wonder that listening skills are struggling. One mechanism that I use to manage this situation is to make background assumptions which allows me to quickly move onto the next activity. In the case of the retailer they are always sending information about new cars and therefore when I heard ‘offer’ I jumped to the conclusion that they meant ‘new car’.

History is littered with many instances of mishearing and one of the most famous, which had devastating consequences, is the Charge of the Light Brigade where miscommunication in the chain of command sent a light cavalry charging towards a well prepared artillery battery which resulted in high British casualties.

Mishearing can result in funny instances, for example in the world of music lyrics, can have a humorous twist: “Money for nothin’ and chips for free” ( correct lyric: “Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free” from Dire Straits’ ‘Money For Nothing’.) or “Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tangerine” ( correct lyric: “Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine” from ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’). However there is a darker mishearing, for example where covert recordings which are lawfully captured by the police are usually poor quality and can be misleading and lead to the wrong convictions.

There can be deeper aspects of listening. In an article by Dr Atul Gawande he describes attending a very disruptive and abusive prisoner and was struggling with the moral dilemma of giving such an obnoxious person the same attention as a normal patient. The turning point in the session came when: “ … he’d controlled himself enough to hold still for my ministrations. And I suddenly remembered a lesson a professor had taught about brain function. When people speak, they aren’t just expressing their ideas; they are, even more, expressing their emotions. And it’s the emotions that they really want heard. So I stopped listening to the man’s words and tried to listen for the emotions.” He eventually treated the prisoner but it was only after he listened between the abuse and to the prisoners emotions.

Listening requires time, patience and concentration by the listener and making sure that what is being heard is understood. Maybe some of the problems we face as individuals and a society would be reduced if we all took a few minutes to listen to each other. We may never agree on a topic but at least we can start to understand each other. As Aristotle best summarised: “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d rather have been talking.”