[syn]finity:

It's one of those rules we're often told as writers. Don't write in Latin, write in Anglo-Saxon! This so-called 'rule' has been around quite a while. In Politics & The English Language (1946) George Orwell wrote "bad writers... are nearly always haunted by the notion that Latin or Greek words are grander than Saxon ones". But, what does this mean? Do we have to check the etymology of every word we scribble down in our manuscript books, weeding out the obnoxious foreigners and replacing them with good, solid, stalwart Germanic conciseness? Or does it mean we should write in an archaic style and pepper our prose with lovely words such as erstwhile , forsooth and threap ? Are we banned from using words such as obfuscate , perambulate, egregious and impecunious ? Well, let's think about this for a moment, with a couple of examples. Here's the opening line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's book Paul Clifford ; It wa s a dark and stormy nig...

The Sun’s closest known star was discovered a century ago. But scientists have speculated ever since that an even closer star could be lurking undetected in our immediate neighbourhood. The search for this hidden star may soon be at an end. If it exists at all, the orbiting WISE telescope, a NASA-funded mission, will already have found it. In fact, one team of researchers have made it a personal goal to claim the discovery for themselves.  In 1984, scientists discovered that mass extinctions on Earth happen on a regular cycle, every 26 million years or so. They proposed that this was due to periodic comet impacts with our planet. This led some astronomers to suggest that a distant, as-yet-undetected companion star to the Sun is periodically sweeping through the Oort cloud, a vast ocean of comets surrounding the Solar System, each time sending a deadly shower of comets our way. This shower of death, every 26 million years, could explain the regular catastrophic exti...

I've seen a lot of discussion online recently concerning the 'bestseller' or 'bestselling' tag that many authors add to their online persona. There seems to be a general feeling that such tags are often not what they seem, or worse, seem to have no basis in fact. Let me state at the outset that this post is not a criticism of authors who genuinely are 'bestsellers'. To gain such an accolade takes a lot of hard work, dedication and devotion, and would not have been possible if their work were not of a high standard. No, this post is aimed at the author who appears to be making claims that are not substantiated, in the hope of artificially increasing their discoverability, and presumably bolster their sales.  Many authors are desperate to achieve success (usually measured by sales volume), and will often employ underhand tactics to achieve that. This is odd, because there is no evidence that merely making such claims actually improves an author's sa...

Music is great, isn't it? There's music for every mood and every occasion. From the delightful counterpoint of Bach, the swirling emotion of Wagner, to the twee pop of Sandy Shaw and the gut-wrenching angst of Megadeath. There's so much to choose from. Some of us choose just one genre and revel in it. Some of us constantly explore the moving musical landscape and change our allegiances like socks. There's good music, and there's bad, but the choice as to whether it's one or the other is entirely subjective. Many people will hate it, but somebody, somewhere, will like it. So, in a very real sense, there's no 'bad' music at all. But there are bad bands, right? Yes, you know who they are. You've seen them play live a million times. You've frowned (or laughed) at their Facebook posts. You've cringed at their embarrassing and immature hype. Maybe you even played bass for them once! So, what is it that makes them bad? Not the music of co...

Artist's impression of a black hole. With new blockbuster movie Interstellar now in cinemas, there's a flurry of interest in black holes and wormholes. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne was a scientific consultant for the production and insisted that the depiction should stay within legitimate boundaries. Apart from the odd bit of artistic license, of course! Black holes are scary, right? They suck in everything in their path. They devour whole planets, stars even, ripping them apart like mere wisps of smoke. They condemn anything that confronts them to an unknowable oblivion. It’s the stuff of nightmare, or at least a bad disaster movie. But I think black holes get a bad press. They are misunderstood, misrepresented. The truth is they are fascinating creatures, if confusing, and not a little bit weird. So, relax for a moment while I give you my quick and dirty guide to black holes. The Black Hole 101, if you like. Let’s start with a simple definition of a black hole...