This was piloted, not autonomous. But yes, the maturity is the big thing here - the CAA was happy for Vertical to fly in open airspace meaning that they were satisfied with the reliability of the craft.
The Women's Institute is going strong in the UK. There are far more girls' schools than boys' schools. I don't think female only spaces are frowned on at all, at least here.
You perhaps missed the key point - this was Simon Peyton Jones speaking.
I was fortunate enough to be in the audience; while the talk was pitched at a lay audience, Simon is the type of speaker who can make anything engaging and enjoyable to listen to regardless of whether you know the material he's presenting or have not the first idea.
I've watched it now, and while I've no doubt he's a good science communicator, and the topic and examples are solid, I think he falls between two stools here. I think he goes too fast for a neophyte, and the topic is too basic for someone with experience.
If you watch the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (which I think are pitched at the same level) you'll see they generally slow things down a bit.
Would have benefitted from fewer examples, with more time spent on each.
I attend the Christmas Lectures too - I'm literally on my way home from the RI as I type :)
They used to go a lot deeper and narrower, exploring a topic (eg the Standard Model or chirality) over a set of 5 hour long lectures. The target audience was scientifically aware teenage children, but they're now about engaging children for whom science might not have otherwise been an interesting topic.
My point about Simon was that he is engaging - I tried to allude to the fact that an expert wouldn't learn anything. I don't know how it comes across as a video but as a live performer he draws you in.
> Just a reminder, if you ever look at England on a map and try and guess where the middle of it is, that is where the tree stood, alone, surrounded by fields.
The tree was located about 30 miles from the northern border of England. It could possibly be described as on the middle by longitude but it's far from the middle of England as a whole.
I don’t normally say anything but thanks when corrected but in this case most foreigners would expect England to represent the GB landmass so in this case there’s no need to point out the error. Even if it was , it’s odd to start explaining the borders, it’s almost as if you are entirely confused by the prospect of the tree being in the center of the GB landmass. I’m sure you are not but that’s what it comes across as. Only saying this so you work on your context analysis in discussions.
I would say it is worth pointing out though, specifically because foreigners are most likely to be confused between England and GB. Hope you get your karma back :)
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