Patrick Fullick

@insect-project.org

1001 Followers 2546 Following

unrecovered academic https://fullick.net ~ science educator & writer ~ habitual techie ~ InSECT Project team member (UCL) https://insect-project.org - working to restore trust in science, bolster democracy and counter the erosion of truth 🧪 ✊

"The argument started because there were no tomatoes on the shepherds pie that Michael made for tea and John thought this was wrong," said
A difficulty is when science is asked to work at the speed of policy-making, which is almost always much faster than the speed of scientific consensus-formation. What our course shows is why science is still 'the way to bet' under these circumstances. This is because of the expertise of scientists and because of their obsession with the truth of the matter: there is no other institution that can be relied upon as much as science to aspire to deliver the truth. That is the argument that leads to the conclusion that professional science is the place to seek the truth about the observable world while social media, artificial intelligence and populist politicians are not. InSECT Project materials provide teachers with ways of examining historical and contemporary case studies in the context of debates comparing the interpretation of scientific findings and literary and artistic works. For example, we explain that historical accounts of certain famous experiments as they are usually taught in schools are false in terms of the reported speed and certainty of their outcomes, which may be fixed now but were debatable at the time. Likewise, contemporaneous science often has a degree of interpretative flexibility. Instead, science has to be understood via its aspirations. An identifying feature of science is the aspiration to clarity and uniqueness of interpretation even if it cannot be achieved immediately. In works of art and literature, on the other hand, the need for expert analysis and the possibility of novel interpretations is often thought of as a characteristic of great work. Yet, some works of art are produced with the aspirations of a science in terms of clarity and unique interpretation - consider Picasso's Guernica and Orwell's 1984 where the artist and author clearly did not mean the spectator or reader to understand their work in multiple ways. InSECT Project case studies include vaccination and climate change: we show that in these cases the interpretative f
Hands-On Workshop The interdisciplinary experience: teaching about science with humanities Thursday, April 16 • 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM Anaheim Convention Center - 260 A, North Building Inspired by InSECT, we propose courses that include both science and humanities. Elizabeth Zodda has five years of experience teaching an interdisciplinary course that blends science and social studies and includes students who may not see themselves as science students. In this session you will see how such a course was developed and how it runs. As students investigate current or historical issues that make use of scientific knowledge, we analyze the differences between science and other disciplines such as literature or political science. How do they compare in their approach to knowledge production, interpretation, and communication? Through this unusual classroom experience, students develop an appreciation for science and its role in providing trustworthy and reliable knowledge about the world and come to understand the arts and humanities. Stand-alone lesson suggestions will be included for use in your own classroom to enhance your science students’ connection to current events. TAKEAWAYS: Participants will leave with a better understanding of how science and other subjects differ in terms of building up, evaluating and using knowledge. You will be introduced to interdisciplinary methods for discussing the nature of science with your students. SPEAKERS: Elizabeth Zodda
Chart showing share of self-identified MAHA followers who consider the following ideas either a core principle or a non-core view of MAHA: Core principles, per majority 1. Removing ultra-processed food from American diets 56% core : 32% non-core 2. Removing artificial dyes from foods 56% core : 31% non-core 3. Increasing physical activity 53% core : 33% non-core 4. Reducing the impact of "forever chemicals' and microplastics 53% core : 31% non-core 5. Restricting junk food purchases through federal nutrition programs (e.g., SNAP) 53% core : 33% non-core 6. Limiting pesticide use 50% core : 34% non-core
Hands-On Workshop The interdisciplinary experience: teaching about science with humanities Thursday, April 16 • 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM Anaheim Convention Center - 260 A, North Building Inspired by InSECT, we propose courses that include both science and humanities. Elizabeth Zodda has five years of experience teaching an interdisciplinary course that blends science and social studies and includes students who may not see themselves as science students. In this session you will see how such a course was developed and how it runs. As students investigate current or historical issues that make use of scientific knowledge, we analyze the differences between science and other disciplines such as literature or political science. How do they compare in their approach to knowledge production, interpretation, and communication? Through this unusual classroom experience, students develop an appreciation for science and its role in providing trustworthy and reliable knowledge about the world and come to understand the arts and humanities. Stand-alone lesson suggestions will be included for use in your own classroom to enhance your science students’ connection to current events. TAKEAWAYS: Participants will leave with a better understanding of how science and other subjects differ in terms of building up, evaluating and using knowledge. You will be introduced to interdisciplinary methods for discussing the nature of science with your students. SPEAKERS: Elizabeth Zodda
Image showing Lego figure of Donald Trump at casino table with grimacing face and beads of sweat on his face.
From New York Times 30 January 2026 Photograph shows US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Caption: The judge ruled that Energy Secretary Chris Wright violated the law when he handpicked researchers to work in secret to produce a government report on global warming. Nathan Howard/Reuters By Lisa Friedman Reporting from Washington A federal judge on Friday ruled the Energy Department violated the law when Secretary Chris Wright handpicked five researchers who reject the scientific consensus on climate change to work in secret on a sweeping government report on global warming. The Energy Department issued the report, which downplayed the dangers of warming, in late July without having held any public meetings or made records available to the public. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, then cited the report to justify a plan to repeal the endangerment finding, a landmark scientific determination that serves as the legal foundation for regulating climate pollution.
The byelection candidates have been arriving at the Manchester central convention complex and it’s been reported that they have been asked to meet with the returning officer in an announcement a short while ago, suggesting a result is near.
Allister Heath How dns errors became the ultimate symbol of Britain's humiliating global irrelevance
John Nettleton, left, as Sir Arnold Robinson, with Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes Minister. Photograph: BBC
Sign on Albert Bridge in London: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Albert Bridge Notice All troops must break step when marching over this bridge
Photograph of Donald Trump and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor shaking hands. Caption: "See you on the inside."
Photograph of gun and bottle of scotch malt whisky.
Court judgement: IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. Plaintiff. DOUG BURGUM, et al., Defendants. CIVIL ACTION NO. 26-434 MEMORANDUM OPINION Rufe, J. February 16, 2026 "All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place." George Orwell, 1984 As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto "Ignorance is Strength," this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims- to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not. The President's House is a component of Independence National Historical Park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residence and the people who lived there, including people enslaved by President George Washington. On January 22, 2026, the National Park Service ("NPS") removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President's House. Plaintiff City of Philadelphia ("the City") filed this lawsuit under the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA") against the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the Department of ... [page ends]
Animated gif showing scene from Monty Python file "The Life of Brian". John Cleese is saying " We're the people's Front of Judea".
Top left: Image of the scientist Carl Sagan. Text in quotes: I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness... The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Cartoon shows princess sat on a wall at the edge of a pond with waterlily leaves. In her hand she holds a frog. In the background there is a castle with conical turrets from which fly flags. The frog is saying: "This is awkward. I'm no longer a prince and my name appears multiple times in the Epstein files."
Ayoub Khan (ind) says rubbish is building up “right beneath my very nose”. He is a Birmingham MP, and he is talking about the bin strike. But he has Nigel Farage and the other Reform UK MPs sitting in the row directly in front of him. His joke prompts loud laughted. Richard Tice seems to see the funny side too, but Sarah Pochin looks horribly offended. Starmer says he hopes the strike gets resolved.
I'm citing this trend because it was politically germane. When Joe Biden appointed his staff and cabinet, he didn’t merely turn a blind eye to how bright these people were; he went out of his way to find a candidate for the Secretary of the Treasury who was an imbecile. And not only an imbecile but an imbecile who was recognizably an imbecile—someone whose speech and affect were conspicuously vacuous. It was proudly shouted from the rafters by a fawning media and Biden’s own press secretary that the president was purposefully seeking out the “historically marginalized,” i.e., stupid people. The same template was adopted at the Defense Department. The Joint Chiefs weren't simply mixing up the ranks like a salad; ignoring the lesson of their botched assassination attempt on Osama bin Laden, who remained at liberty, they were frantically promoting the most witless privates in the army to captain, colonel, and lieutenant general. Americans were still beside themselves about the “scandal” of their military having until 2011 administered an IQ test called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to all prospective recruits; before the ASVAB was theatrically disavowed, the U.S. military had not inducted any soldiers with a score below 85. The Sen- ate hearings had been dragging on for years, though their conclusions were foregone: for that test ever having been administered, heads would roll.
We as Americans need to be looking at ourselves in the mirror. Why are we not having that same reaction [as Europe]?” said Rufus Gifford, a former Obama-appointed ambassador to Denmark. “Without a doubt how Trump has acted has filtered down to broader society. But I think the question that we have to ask is whether or not this existed before Trump, and Trump is just a symptom of that larger problem.
InSECT Project logo - InSECT Investigating Science Education, Citizenship and Truth A project to restore trust in science
Chart of jetstream over UK/southern Europe.
Extract from Economist article: In a party full of lifers and riddled by—at times—psychopathic factionalism, Sir Keir was supposed to be a refreshing, fair-minded pragmatist. Yet Lord Mandelson was appointed above all thanks to the people he knew and for the wing of the party he represented. He was close to Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s most influential adviser and the man who pushed for Lord Mandelson to land the plum job in Washington. Ironically, Sir Keir is not especially close to Lord Mandelson. Before the Washington appointment, their relationship extended to Lord Mandelson offering the prime minister advice from the sidelines and once suggesting on a podcast that Sir Keir was too fat. The prime minister has no cronies, but still somehow fell foul of cronyism. Sir Keir leads a hollow administration. It brought in figures from New Labour to give it ballast. Former aides from the glory days of New Labour are scattered all over government. Lord Mandelson was to provide a cynical steel. After all, the “Prince of Darkness” had been there and done it. Whatever flaws he had—strange business dealings or a long-term friendship with a notorious sex-offender billionaire—were worth it for his expertise, and Sir Keir and his team relied on it. It is shameful in its own way. A man whose political pomp came three decades ago was welcomed back to the top of government, as if Sir Tony Blair had relied on apparatchiks from the Harold Wilson era during his time in office. It is a politics stuck in the 1990s, with the norms to match: two boys giggling over email about sleeping with strippers. A politics previously seen as creaking and ageing is now humiliating.
Guardian newspaper screenshot: Subhead: Angela Rayner backs Tory calls for intelligence and security committee to decide what Mandelson files released Text: Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, has urged the government to agree to the Tory proposal (see 1.15pm) for the intelligence and security committee to decide what Mandelson files are released, and what are held back. In intervention while Thomas-Symonds was speaking, she said that she had table a humble address on PPE in 2022. She said: Quote: Given the public disgust and the sickening behaviour of Peter Mandelson and the importance of transparency … should we not have the ISC not have the same role now [as in relation to a previous humble address] in keeping public confidence in the process? Photograph of Angela Rayner speaking in the Commons. Caption: Angela Rayner speaking in the debate Photograph: HoC
Table: KEY TAKEAWAYS Cost of living is the anchor issue Affordability frames almost every other political concern, from immigration to crime to climate. The public’s core question remains: “How will this make my life feel better?” We are in a new battle of persuasion Arguments once perhaps taken for granted - on climate action, diversity, democratic norms - must now be actively made and remade. Laws and policies do not equal public consent. Narrative matters as much as delivery Governments committed to long-term “deliverism” struggle without a compelling story. Without an emotional throughline, progress feels invisible. Trust has migrated Politicians are widely distrusted. Charities, community organisations and businesses are often more trusted - creating an opportunity, and obligation, for non-political actors to lead. Risk-taking is rising A growing “nothing left to lose” mentality is making voters more open to populist and anti-system choices.
Infographic: The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center conducted a survey of 1,057 U.S. faculty in November 2025, asking questions about the impact of Generative AI (GenAI) tools on their teaching, their students, and the future of higher education. 95% of the faculty in this survey said GenAI’s impact will be to increase students’ overreliance on these artificial intelligence tools, including 75% who said the tools will have a lot of impact. 90% said the use of GenAI will diminish students’ critical thinking skills, including 66% who think GenAI will have a lot of impact. 83% said the use of GenAI will decrease student attention spans, including 62% who thought GenAI will have a lot of impact. 86% said they believe it is likely or extremely likely that the emergence of GenAI tools will impact the work and role of those who teach in higher education. 79% think the typical teaching model in their department will be affected by GenAI tools at least to some extent, including 43% who said they believe the impact will be significant. 78% said cheating on their campus has increased since GenAI tools have become widely available, including 57% who said it has increased a lot. And 73% said they have personally dealt with academic integrity issues involving their students’ use of GenAI. Note: The term “GenAI” is used throughout the report and refers to “generative artificial intelligence tools” such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot. These findings are based on a non-scientific sample of faculty known to the American Association of Colleges & Universities. The Methodology section has details of the composition of the sample.
Image of jet stream (nullschool.net) showing strong upper atmosphere winds extending south of Bay of Biscay and over Portugal and Spain.
Star Wars meme - image of Alec Guiness as Obi-Wan Kenobe. Quote text - "I felt a great disturbance in the Force ..."
Parody of White House post on X. Shows a snowy, flat landscape in the foreground with snowy mountains in the background. There is a Greenland flag flying in the distance. Figure of a man dressed in formal black coat in the foreground, seen from behind. The implication is that it is Trump. He is walking with a polar bear holding an EU flag on his left. Their footsteps in the snow are seen.
Screenshot of Whitehouse tweet on X. Shows a snowy, flat landscape in the foreground with snowy mountains in the background. There is a Greenland flag flying in the distance. Figure of a man dressed in formal black coat in the foreground, seen from behind. The implication is that it is Trump. He is walking with a penguin holding a US flag on his left. Their footsteps in the snow are seen.
Cover of the book "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll.
Graphic with two images and text. Top right shows "Convergence" by Jackson Pollock (1952) featuring an energetic and chaotic canvas where vibrant lines of red, yellow, and blue intertwine with black and white elements. Underneath is a quote: "I may not know much about art - but I know what I like!" Thumbs up emoji. Bottom right shows cover from "Nature" magazine - magazine title at top of cover image with DNA spiral underneath from top left to bottom right. Subtitle under magazine title on right of page - "the human genome". Underneath is a quote: "I may not know much about science - but I know what I like!" Thumbs down emoji.
Ryanair email marketing image. Text at top of image: "Ryanair's Big 'idiot' seat sale" Underneath: "Only available for Elon Musk and any other 'idiots' on X!! Book today before Musk gets one!" Large text: From £16.99 On right of image: Model figures show Michael O'Leary (in blue checked shirt and jeans) striking Elon Musk (in black leather bikers gear with red X on chest) with his fist, holding a placard saying "I (heart emoji) Ryanair" Models stand on a small black plinth which says "Big Idiots" Red button with white text: "100K seats in Feb, Mar and Apr"
The structure of science. From the top layer of SOCIETY, individuals climb down from society into the science sub-society through schooling and university acquiring certain norms, skills, and tools illustrated by hammers and anvils. The transition is difficult and we show this by the need to climb down a rope. Once membership of the community of ‘scientists’ has been entered individuals will generally try to attain a more specialised level, such as chemist, biologist or physicist – we show three such sciences at the next level down. At the bottom level, 'frontier scientists' do their work whilst engaging in discourse - the topmost scientist shouts the results back up into science and society through a megaphone.
Matt cartoon from Daily Telegraph. Exterior of Reform UK constituency office on high street (closed). Black bag on pavement. Sign in window reads: "Please don't leave pre-loved politicians outside when office is closed".
London Routemaster bus (route 15 to Tower Hill) seen from front turning right out of road junction in London city centre.
Photograph of African Grey parrot. Text above photograph: British parrot missing for four years returns speaking Spanish. Comment under photograph: bro did a study abroad program
"Trusting the ‘experts’ is not a feature of science; it’s not a feature of democracy. It’s a feature of religion, and it’s a feature of totalitarianism. In democracies, we have the obligation, and it’s one of the burdens of citizenship, to do our own research and make our own determinations about things." Robert F Kennedy Jnr, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaking on the Tucker Carlson Show 30 June 2025
Photograph (headshot) of Timothy Snyder.
InSECT Project flyer with light blue banner at top with InSECT project logo in black and white on left. Logo shows Atlas supporting the world on his back, standing on an elephant which stands on a turtle with eight turtles of decreasing size beneath it.
Great moments in shopping - Louis Pasteur buys his first quart of pasteurized milk. Cartoon shows pasteur in formal dress (including top hat) in store at counter being handed a bottle of milk by the storekeeper.
Still image of RFK Jr appearing on Tucker Carlson show. Overlaid text: "Trusting the ‘experts’ is not a feature of science; it’s not a feature of democracy. It’s a feature of religion, and it’s a feature of totalitarianism. In democracies, we have the obligation, and it’s one of the burdens of citizenship, to do our own research and make our own determinations about things."
The fractal model of society.
Photograph of book "An Anthropologist on Mars" by Oliver Sacks on wooden table, with (illegible) original purchase receipt.
Circular diagram explaining The Experimenter's Regress in the context of gravitational waves. Question: Do gravitational waves exist? Scientist A says: I'll build a detector. Scientist A says: I've detected gravitational waves! Scientist B says: I'll build a detector too! Scientist B says: But I don't see any gravitational waves. You built your detector wrong! It sees gravitational waves where there aren't any. Scientist A says: No - you built your detector wrong! If you'd built it right you would have seen gravitational waves too! Scientist B says: I can prove my detector works - I've calibrated it using electrical impulses. I can show you that my detector is more sensitive than your detector! Scientist A says: But gravitational waves are new science. they're not like electricity. Your calibration means nothing! The circle then comes back to the first question - "do graviotatinal waves exist?" Centre box says: The ONLY way out of the experimenter’s regress is for the community of scientists to decide who they think is right.
No, not FOR dogs being infants! AGAINST it! I'm AGAINST IT, haven't you been LISTENING?