Jan 16
Has anyone, anywhere, ever, been killed by a pipe bomb disguised as a bicycle? I have been pursuing this question since last June with the help of the Internet and the BBCs Today Programme and World Service. So far the answer appears to be not yet; but it remains in the mind of the Westminster …
Dec 31
Preface for Risco the Brazilian translation of Risk – to be published in Brazil in March 2009. I first encountered the idea that God might be a Brazilian forty years ago. I was a visiting student at the University of São Paulo. On a trip from São Paulo to Santos I was the passenger of …
Dec 29
John Adams and (even older positively venerable) Mayer Hillman are looking for a younger enthusiast to carry on a research project that Mayer and Anne Whalley began at the Policy Studies Institute. In 1971, they conducted a survey of English childrens independent mobility how they got to school, visited friends and so on, whether they …
Nov 05
Two assertions that I cannot prove: · No one, anywhere, ever, has been killed by a bicycle bomb. · No life, anywhere, ever, has been saved by the life jacket under their seat. Anywhere is a large place, and ever is a long time. The most one can do is broadcast an appeal for disproving …
Nov 04
Letter accepted for publication in Significance, December 2008. This is a much abbreviated version of the letter submitted. Apologies for my delayed reply to the Controversy piece by Richard Allsop, et al (Significance, June 2008) – challenging my piece Britains seatbelt law should be repealed (Significance June 2007). The myth that seat belt laws save lives …
Aug 21
Spain’s Prime Minister declared a three period of mourning to mark the Madrid plane crash of 20 August. This reaction to the crash highlights yet again the intractable problem of finding a metric that everyone can agree upon for measuring risk. The crash was what is sometimes referred to as a low-probability high-impact event. High …
Aug 15
On 11 August the Guardian published an article entitled “Do cyclists really need helmets?” It noted the difference in cycling culture between continental northern Europe and elsewhere. I submitted a letter on the subject that they declined to publish. So I have submitted it to my blog where I have a 100% success rate. Do …
Aug 04
My bicycle bombs story (see previous blog and comments – http://john-adams.co.uk/?p=122 ) was also aired on the BBC Today Programme and the BBC World Service on 30 July. I still haven’t received any convincingly documented case of a bicycle bomb, in the form of the frame packed with explosives, killing anyone anywhere in the world. …
Jul 28
On 25 June I participated in a debate held by the Royal Institute of British Architects This house believes we should fortify our cities. Piers Gough and I opposed the motion. In the course of the debate the proposers, Lorraine Gamman and Adam Thorpe, raised the threat of bicycle bombs. After the debate they produced …
Jun 14
Published in The GuardianThursday June 12, 2008 Ian Stewart asserts that his university’s mathematics students “earn more money, on average, than those studying any other degree subject” and that “their ability to handle technical ideas is highly prized, and rewarded” (Letters, June 7). His assumption, shared by most other contributors to the current debate about …