“If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis that all things are made of atoms” Richard Feynman Jon Osler is a chemistry graduate…
Articles by Jon Osler
Have you read a work of Shakespeare’s and do you know the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
“A good many times I have been present at gatherings of people who, by the standards of the traditional culture, are thought highly educated and who have with considerable gusto been expressing their incredulity at the illiteracy of scientists. Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them…
The victory of Emanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen in the French Presidential elections is a symbol of hope for humanity which slows the momentum of prejudice
The victory of Emanuel Macron in the French Presidential elections is a symbol of hope for humanity at a time when xenophobia has led to shocking and dangerous election results in Britain and the United States of America. It is a symbol of hope reminiscent of the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential…
The French Presidential elections; International and domestic context
The 2017 French presidential elections are taking place during a period of extreme international and local tension. One barometer to measure this tension is the Doomsday clock. The Doomsday Clock According to a group of respected academics including physicists and environmental scientists, in consultation with a board of sponsors comprising 15 Nobel prize winners, the…
The French Political System – The Basics
Montesquieu and the Separation of Power In France there is a separation of power inspired by Montesquieu (1689-1755), a French political philosopher from ‘le Siècle des Lumières’, the Age of the Enlightenment. Montesquieu believed in a separation of the powers that implement government policy. They are separated into the executive power, the legislative power and…
Commemorating the Dead in Britain and Russia: The Controversy
Jon Osler is currently living in Moscow, teaching English whilst learning Russian. His on the ground blog elucidates cultural highlights as perceived by an Englishman in Russia. The Ribbon of Saint George The black and orange ribbon of Saint George forms part of many military decorations awarded by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and…
Where did all the snow go?
Jon Osler is currently living in Moscow, teaching English whilst learning Russian. His on the ground blog elucidates cultural highlights as perceived by an Englishman in Russia. After several months of hibernation in overheated apartments, Muscovites have made it to May and the long Moscow winter has finally made way for spring. Five long months…
Leviathan
Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? – Job 41-1 Jon Osler is currently living in Moscow, teaching English whilst learning Russian. His on the ground blog elucidates cultural highlights as perceived by an Englishman in Russia. Zvyagintsev’s award winning Leviathan, set in Teriberka, Northwestern…
Notes from Underground
Jon Osler is currently living in Moscow, teaching English whilst learning Russian. His on the ground blog elucidates cultural highlights as perceived by an Englishman in Russia. On the escalator descending towards Medvedkovo station, I can hear Moscow’s monstrous metro for the first time. The old soviet trains make a noise more like that of…
Britain through Russian eyes
Britain is “just a small island … no one pays any attention to them.” Dmitry Peskov Jon Osler is currently living in Moscow, teaching English whilst learning Russian. His on the ground blog elucidates cultural highlights as perceived by an Englishman in Russia. Britain through Russian eyes may at first seem a strange topic for…