No Need for Geniuses - Professor Steve Jones

In the upheaval of the French Revolution, another quieter revolution was born that changed the scientific world forever: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and...
The French Revolution is famous for its political upheavals, but few know that it was also a time when Paris was the world centre of science in a way that has never been matched before or since. I will take a tour of the city from the Eiffel Tower to the Champs Elysees, taking in the Tour de France on the way, to show how a small group of talented men and women revolutionised science from physics to biology - and how some of them paid a heavy price.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and...
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[@paxdriver]

This is a non-stop game of linking famous French people in history by x degrees of separation lol! 35 mins of straight liaisons, brilliant

[@davidwilkie9551]

All that matters is sensible Observation, and keeping your head on, clear of inappropriate drugs.

[@chrish12345]

I don't fully agree with his PFI remark - in a PFI the money is payed upfront by the private sector into the scheme and repayed by the government with interest, in the 'fermiers' model the downpayment is paid by the private sector (fermier) to the state and then reclaimed from the public. The PFI is about taking some money off the balance sheet, the fermier model is about bringing in tax money to the state as a one-off payment. In both cases the private sector potentially ends up as the winner at the expense of the taxpayers but in the PFI the government is doing the repaying and in the fermier model the 'private sector' itself is the one having to ensure the repayments come in.

[@avro549B]

The French Revolution established the script of revolutions going mad and devouring their initiators. It's been replayed several times subsequently.

[@brendankeane5725]

List of the 72 names of Scientists on the Eiffel Tower

[@fhhfhdfdhhdhhdfhdf138]

that was fun

[@brendankeane5725]

He did not mention that Carnot was assassinated.

[@alexcarter8807]

By a student who had to study his stuff?

[@lucusharden4093]

@@alexcarter8807
😂

[@Ekergaard]

One talk about politics and science and not mention that Angela Merkel is a chemist. Well, that's okay, he only talked about France and UK.

[@sikologie1]

She has a PhD in physics. Her husband is a chemist though. But I agree, she could have been mentioned. Her approach to politics seems to be heavily influenced by her training as a scientist.

[@xyzllii]

There seems to be this new format...whereby all these male profs reassure us regularly, that they and we are still human, by repeating the word...OK. as they rant on.

[@codependent864]

I absolutely disagree about Kenyans being better runners because of genes, I remember an Italian winning the 2004 Olympic marathon, Hicham El Guerrouj dominating the 5k back in the day, in my opinion it's for their extremely low weight which very few people in the west can compete with, other than Paula Radcliffe or even Gwen Jorgensen.

[@nmarbletoe8210]

Perhaps Hicham also had genes favorable to long distance running. Genetics always varies from person to person, so it's a statistical effect. There may be no gene that Kenyans have that others don't, but they may have it in greater proportion.