The Lazio region Science Communication festival Apriamo la mente (“Let’s open our mind”) is coming to the end of its second edition. It was a week full of exhibitions, events, science cafe’s, school labs and meetings. This year I participated in two school laboratories, one in Viterbo and one in Poggio Mirteto, near Rieti. It was exciting to see the students getting interested and asking clever questions. Getting them interested in Science is the very point of these events. We had a first presentation by Fabrizio, on the complexity and the Internet, and one by me on ionizing radiation.
This picture was taken by Nora, the organizer of yesterday’s event on behalf of Centro Fermi. Curiously, the student in the middle of the photograph intercepted the word “art” on her cheek, as she stood in the way between the projector and the screen. Science as a form of art?
I am the chap on the right-hand side.
Thanks to Centro Fermi for supporting the event and to Biosistemi 82 for lending an inverted microscope with digital videocamera.
I bet the coffee was good, too;-)
There’s a nice website for Italian science cafes with links to others Caffe Scienza
Maxine, we actually made friends with the school teachers and being in a relatively small village ,they felt like giving their advice on where to go for lunch after the science cafe’. The place that they recommended was just superb. The food was delicious, and the prices made a lot of sense. Just fabulous. Coffee was very nice too, of course 8-}
Mico, thank you for your link. It’s nice to see how science cafes are a world-wide phenomenon. This was an event part of a week-long festival, but I would of course much like to have this experience again in the future. The marvel in the students’ eyes is just what you need every now and then, to re-charge!
Now you mention it, Massimo, I’ve not eaten food anywhere that’s better than the food in Italy, naturally, though France can come close I think. But you can certainly say that Italy beats everywhere for coffee — superba!
I often wondered why that is (at least in Europe) that the countries you would want to live in (good weather, good food, etc.) are also the countries where it is very difficult to find a good job as a scientist. And places with good job opportunities often are rainy or have a winter that lasts 8 months.
There’s a (not very scientific) theory that we Brits have produced so many world-class scientists, writers, poets and dramatists because our inclement climate keeps us stuck indoors. Maybe there’s something in it.
Ah, Matt, your theory is immediately challenged by the strong British tradition of natural history, which is, by necessity, demands exposure to the great outdoors.
And Linnaeus, one of the most prominent naturalists of all time, lived in Sweden, which is even chillier.
Theodosius Dobzhansky, who fused the then-ailing idea of Darwin with modern genetics to create the Modern Synthesis we all know and love, grew up studing natural history in Russia, a country that has produced a lot of extremely good chess players because they have to find some cognitive activity that stops their brains actually freezing in the winter.
Henry, that just adds weight to the theory. What better excuse to escape our miserable climate than a five year mollusc hunt in South America?
Whatever, the coffee in Britain is rubbish. Unless it is Italian of course.
Whatever, the coffee in Britain is rubbish. Unless it is Italian of course
If the coffee were grown in Britain, then I’d agree. But Morrison’s Fair Trade Medium Roast is pretty good, and supported the caffeinous habits of the Nature Network Cromer Hub for two whole days. I think the company with whom you drink the coffee is at least as important as the coffee itself.
Coffee is not grown in Italy either: the climate is just not right. However, there is strong culture of roasting and preparation of a good cup in Italy. If you like a scientific approach to coffee, than do not miss this podcast on The science of coffee from the New York Academy of Sciences.
However, I used to get rather accustomed to both British and American coffee. When the weather is cold and grey and rainy, you just can’t beat sipping a long drink, and an espresso is just not enough.
Martin, Henry, and Matt: I have often grieved over this thought as well. What makes (average) Italians, or Spanish, or Portuguese, so laid back, while Brits so adventurous? If it’s the weather…it’s got to be epigenetics! 8-}
Maxine: one may have to give credit to French cheese though, and wine. Those are quite hard to beat (though not impossible).
Don’t get onto the cheese, Massimo, or Henry and Bob might let that buffalo in to trample all over your blog. (It is safely tethered up in Henry’s at the moment.);-)
For the serious cheese lover, I recommend the wonderful encyclopédie des fromages. My French unfortunately isn’t good enough for all the details. And the scientific approach can not only explain coffee. Two classic texts are On Food and Cooking by
Henry GeeHarold McGee and Kitchen Mysteries by Hervé This. Did I mention before that I collect (and use) cookbooks?If anyone is in London, for example for a certain conference in August, I can recommend a place where I attended a book launch – otherwise well out of my social and income bracket — La Fromagerie#. What an experience!
I’ve enjoyed some of Walter Gratzer’s reviews of Harold McGee’s and other “science-cooking” books over the years, Martin — but vicariously, I’m no cook. Luckily most people in my house are either content to cook themselves and/or to eat plain pasta with salad and a dash of grated parmesan (cheese again!).
Maxine, yet another thing to do when this certain conference in late August takes place. And I just made a reservation for this event at the Royal Albert Hall on the Sunday after the conference.
Although I do like italian coffee a lot, I still can’t get used to drinking my coffee standing. For the rainy days I prefer sitting down comfortably for a few hours in a Viennese coffee house.
Martin, I know what you mean but I can’t sit down in a coffee house I am far too neurotic. So the Italian style of a quick cup standing up wherever you happen to be, was immensely appealing to me when I first visited that beautiful country.
One day I hope I will learn to relax but I fear I may be too old now to be successful.
A bit late, but if I check my bag in August I might be able to take orders for any sort of yummy French cheeses you’d like. We’re in a good part of the country for good things to eat. Or come give a seminar and I’ll make it up to you (gastronomically speaking; we have no speakers’ budget).