Month: April 2016

Challenging Jargon: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity

By Bernie Smith | April 19, 2016

Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University, had a theory. In the spring/summer 1996 he tested that theory with an article he had submitted to Social Text, an academic journal of postmodern cultural studies. The article was “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity”. In that article he theorised that quantum…

Accurate KPIs, Van Halen and brown sweets.

By Bernie Smith | April 1, 2016

How do you know if you are looking at accurate KPIs, reports or dashboards? Perhaps we can learn a lesson from rock legends Van Halen. A copy of their 1982 tour rider makes for interesting reading. It’s 53 pages long and contains some very specific requirements, including: Two dozen English muffins Six bars of soap Six…