Month: April 2014

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Start the Week - James Lovelock

Picture of James Lovelock provided by the Science Museum

Anne McElvoy looks back at the life of the maverick scientist James Lovelock who pioneered the theory of Gaia, of a self-regulating Earth. Lovelock also looks to the future and the next evolution of Gaia which could lead to the extinction of human life, and a rise of Artificial Intelligence, but the writer and ecologist George Monbiot prefers his future world with wolves, wild boars and beavers living alongside humans. The UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change has warned to expect more volatile weather patterns, and the physicist Joanna Haigh explains how scientists from all disciplines are working together to measure the impact of solar activity on the Earth's climate.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Magic Numbers

Do you have a favourite number - one you love, one you think stands out from all the others? Author Alex Bellos joins us to talk about his quest to find the world's favourite number and discuss whether numbers really can be magical, mystical and memorable, or whether it's all mumbo jumbo. Why are odd numbers so appealing? Which number strikes fear into some people's hearts? And why do lists of questions like these always come in threes? This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

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TLDR - #22 – What Happens When You Tell The Whole Internet Your Password

Earlier this week, a commenter named Y. Woodman Brown posted his online passwords in the Washington Post comments section to show just how little his online security mattered to him. It was quickly picked up by the press as an example of online security hubris. Naturally, we had to find him. Alex talks to Y. Woodman Brown and the person who hijacked his Twitter account after the passwords were posted.