Last week, I attended the BioVision World Life Sciences Forum, in Lyon (France (obviously)), as a journalist – or something a little bit like one.
Alongside carrying out interviews – which I now sadly have the lengthy task of transcribing – with some very interesting and pleasant people, I also met various other excellent people in a more ‘casual’ or (I shudder at the word) ‘networking’ capacity. At the Monday evening ‘Networking Soiree’ (I placed more emphasis on the latter part), I ended up cavorting with a selection of young scientists on the event’s ‘young researcher’ scheme and talking some people in the business (not that I am, necessarily) of science communication. One such person, with whom I have remained in most convivial email contact, I had conversations about feminism Vs gender equality, Vermin (as in my Vermin poetry) and postmodern religiosity. (I later had a lengthy conversation with a very interesting (and distractingly-handsome) German science reporter on whether we could, or should, ever ‘cure’ gayness. I think we’re alright, personally – aren’t there enough of us already, without ‘curing’ anyone into making more of us to ‘cure’? Back to ‘Vermin’ ideas there…)
Through the former conversation, I was reminded of the Postmodern Spiritual Pie-Chart. Up to this point, this has merely been a metaphysical graph (yes, you can have one) – but she suggested that it should become real. Perhaps more things that are spoken of should become so. In that spirit, here is my Postmodern Spiritual Pie-Chart…It’s as a download, as no Excel-to-blog solution was immediately obvious and I must now go out! (All transcription and no fresh air, make Caleb somethingsomething).
Science seems to find the visualising of data a most useful exercise, so why not this? I’ve no doubt, if you’re reading this, you have your own Spiritual Pie-chart waiting to take form. Perhaps it is just one big slice of something, 360 degrees of one system, or one big slice of ‘nothing’ – but either way, it’s worth thinking about, eh?