The Bard of Avon, confimed

I have written here before about my conviction that one William Shakespeare was the true author (maybe with some help) of the plays we attribute to him.

Now a book is about to be published by a number of scholars who agree that the man from Stratford not only could be, but most likely is the writer of those great works.

Championing The Bard

What better birthday gift could the Bard ask for?

The future of the world

I read this fascinating article on The Guardian website.




Food for thought for sure but it invites as many questions as solutions at this stage.

• First up is the thought 'how many times has something similar been said in the last century or more?'
• I can imagine that there have been many great thinkers from Adam Smith to Jeremy Bentham and even Malthus who have posited that profit can not be the only aim of business in a civilised world.
• Then, is there any real way to get all the world's business and political leaders around the same table to make it happen?
• In a week when the London Underground proposed later running tubes only to be shouted down by the unions, people whose livelihoods depend on the same system in the same town, can the diverse interests and fields of all business and communities really be brought under one umbrella set of regulations?
• Can we ever reach a point where all the experts agree?
• Even today there are people in power and experts who can't agree on the realities of climate change. Some are absolutely convinced it is not happening, others believe mankind has had a huge and continuing impact.
• Can we be sure that any ideology proposed by any one nation or company is not imposing something entirely alien on others?
• The simple idea of consuming horsemeat has this week shown divisions in Europe that are cultural and historical and that neither side would view as being wrong or negotiable.

It's a noble idea to make the world run on more ethical terms and one I wish more people subscribed to, but is it realistic to expect so many diverse interests to be able to come together and make it work?

How would you change the world for the better?

The News or the Daily Drama

Today I happened to be listening to Radio 2 in the car. In the business section of Simon Mayo's show they interviewed a person from the HPA (Health Protection Agency) who said that they had found that there was a small theoretical risk of infection from the Garra Rufa fish pedicures.
2 hours later, again in the car, I was listening to a local commercial station who get their news from Sky. They ran the same story with the words "A government agency has proved that HIV and Hepatitis can be passed on by fish pedicures". Now that phrasing gives and entirely different perspective on the story. They didn't offer any interviews with or explanations from spokespeople from the HPA, just a salon owner who offers the fish pedicure.
The first article was reasoned, calm, informative and honest.
The second was alarmist, inaccurate and probably quite damaging to the people who offer the treatment.
Imagine if you only heard the second item. You would believe that the treatment is dangerous.
Now imagine if all you listen to is inaccurate, commercial news. The whole world becomes full of evil and danger.
But who can you trust? If often seems that even the BBC is becoming more sensationalist and alarmist.
I think the answer is to read around, look around. Try to find your information from as many sources as you can. After a while you will start to recognise the ones that are alarmist and sensationalist and you will begin to tune your awareness and will recognise who to trust.
Make your mind up from the best sources you can find, don't put your faith in just one.