Perthshire Society of Natural Science
Environment, Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Professor Mark Harris, director of the Ian Ramsey Centre at the University of Oxford, is both a physicist by training and an ordained Anglican priest. He spoke about the ways the relationship between science and religion and theology can be seen – from outright conflict (which is bigger than the other?) through independence to a dialogue and more.
The video of his talk is available on Youtube:
The moment we hear someone talk, their accent and dialect influence the mental image we form of that person’s national, social, economic and educational background.
Dr Sadie Ryan is a sociolinguist at the University of Glasgow with a keen interest in the relationships between accents and identity. She spoke particularly about the relationships between Scots and English.
See the video of the lecture here: https://youtu.be/1HN-kiJ_-G8
For this year’s McAlpine Lecture, Professor James Curran (visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde, amongst many other positions held including former chair of SEPA) spoke to us about the state of climate change.
From problems – CO2 emissions leading to global warming, biodiversity loss, extreme weather events and more – to how our perception of the solutions should change, understanding Sustainable Development of the environment supporting society and the the (circular) economy.
The video can be seen on our Youtube channel:
Even to a casual observer it seems obvious that the noise generated by ships, boats, drilling rigs, sonar and other forms of human activity must be a problem for marine creatures.
Yesterday evening, Dr Luke Rendell, from the University of St Andrews, spoke about the extent and detrimental effects of both natural and man-made noise on marine mammals.
This video is available in high quality on our youtube channel:
Curious Minds will return in the new year.
At the Archaeology & History section’s November meeting, Clare Henderson, an archaeologist with the National Trust for Scotland, introduced us to the archipelago of St Kilda, the UK’s only dual UNESCO World Heritage Site.
She explained the settlement of the islands from prehistory to the famous evacuation of 1930.
We studied both surviving archaeology and the written and photographic records that allow us to tell the island’s story.
A recording of the talk can be seen on youtube:
To mark the 75th anniversary of the PSNS Archaeology & History Section, on 23 September David Bowler led a group around heritage sites of Perth.
See the video on YouTube: