Pinned
I was explaining to my Ukrainian colleague the phrase ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. She told me the equivalent in Ukrainian is ‘The only free cheese is in the mousetrap’ - which is so much better
Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
20.3K posts
Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
@sjblakemore
Professor of Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience, FBA FMedSci FRS. Adolescent brain development. Views my own. Book: amazon.co.uk/dp/1784161349 🇪🇺
- Today we lost our dad, Sir Colin Blakemore, after 18 months of suffering from motor neuron disease. He died peacefully in Sobell House Hospice in Oxford, surrounded by love. My sisters and I were with him every day in the hospice, and it was a privilege. We really miss him
- We need to talk about university students, many of whom are 18-year-olds - adolescents - living away from home for the first time. I’m hearing distressing stories about isolation, loneliness and being stuck in rooms. Are we getting it right? Are other countries doing it better?
- This politician on the Today programme is ‘sick of the science changing’. This is why more scientists need to go into politics, and politicians need to have a better understanding of how science works.
- How is it acceptable that children's right to education is a lower priority than adults' right to drink in a pub? Schools are still closed for most secondary years and many primary-aged kids are not back. How is this acceptable when pubs, restaurants etc will reopen next week?
- I have some news! In Oct 2019 I will move to @Cambridge_Uni to take up the role of Chair of Psychology. After 17 years at @UCL_ICN, I will be very sad to leave my wonderful UCL colleagues, but I’m excited about joining everyone at @CambPsych and honoured to accept this role.
- Where are teachers and school staff in this? They are vital frontline workers providing education for the next generation. Their absence on this list does not support the government’s claim that education and schools are a priority.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has shared advice on the groups that should be prioritised for the #COVID19 vaccination. See the full report: ▶️ gov.uk/government/pub…
- Not sure a longer school day and less summer holiday is what children (or teachers) need. Children of all ages need to play, exercise, hang out with peers and have fun. Play and social interaction are crucial to development and wellbeing, but have been in short supply for a year
- Something that shouldn't need saying and yet sometimes does: It is possible to care deeply about BOTH Covid and the horrendous infection and mortality rates AND the educational and mental health consequences of children & young people not being in school or seeing their friends
- THE TEENAGE BRAIN ISN'T BROKEN, IT ISN'T DYSFUNCTIONAL, AND IT ISN'T A DEFECTIVE ADULT BRAIN. ADOLESCENCE IS A FORMATIVE PERIOD OF LIFE, WHEN THE BRAIN IS CHANGING IN IMPORTANT WAYS, WHEN NEURAL PATHWAYS ARE MALLEABLE, AND PASSION AND CREATIVITY RUN HIGH. WE SHOULDN'T DEMONISE IT
- I think children should be exempt from the ‘rule of six’ in England, as is the case in Scotland and Wales. Playing with other children is a developmentally crucial activity, and shouldn’t be made illegal.
- Don’t believe everything you read on wiki. My children discovered my wiki page and worked out how to edit it… it now says I have 20 children
- Congratulations @jesswade BEM on yours British Empire Medal - such a well deserved honour. You make a *real* difference to underrepresented groups in science. Academic writes 270 Wikipedia pages in a year to get female scientists noticed
- Academia needs to be kinder. A recent review included: “I am very interested in the topic, but I am sorry to state my excitement died quickly”. Let’s think about how statements like this affect student authors. Constructive criticism is useful, but this is unnecessarily vitriolic
