Archive for November, 2025

Arabic numerals are ace. But they have one big weakness: when you are trying to order food in a pub, it’s very hard to tell if you are on table six or table nine, because those numbers are the same shape upside down. That means we have to rely on contextual clues, which may or may not be available, and increase cognitive load.

That’s why I’ve invented British numerals. They’re based on the solid foundation of Arabic numerals but fixes the 6/9 problem. Plus, I’ve given it a name that even the increasingly right-wing public can get behind.

Move over Andrew Wiles, Britain has a new maths hero.

Broadmeadow Linear is a new parkrun located in Swords. Saturday was the 5th edition and I was keen to complete this as I had otherwise done everything in the area and it was ruining my map ?. It’s a nice compact park and you complete three loops of the perimeter. There is a lake at the far end and plenty of trees along the river.

This is my 54th parkrun in Ireland. But the 5K app doesn’t count the ones I’ve done in the north as Irish, so this one took the count up to 50 in my World Tourist challenge. That’s Unionist propaganda fo you. Congratulations to my mum who graduated from the C25K programme again after coming back from injury.

Last year, I had an awful time at Dublin Marathon and it was a real struggle to finish. But I did and was very proud of doing so. This year, I wad hoping for more of a victory lap where I enjoyed the run and felt good.

To avoid the transport chaos of the morning, I decided to book a hotel. We booked a Staycity, which we tried back in 2012 where it was a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, again it was a mess. We booked a suite, which is supposed to sleep three people but only has one bed and no sofa. It was absolutely tiny. I would say that a regular hotel room would have more space.

Thankfully, the morning was milder than the night and I got to the start line feeling good. Once we were through the check in and into the starter area, there was a kilometre or two walk from there to the start line. This included a convenience store that was open exclusively for runners. I used it to stock up on a bit of extra chocolate while the guy in front of me in the queue hopefully enquired as to whether they sold energy gels. Like the one I was eating at the first photography point.

Then we were underway. I did actually feel reasonable for the first 15k. This section passes through some of North Dublin and spends a lot of time in Phoenix Park. All of this was pleasant enough. After this point, I was on and off with a bit of panic. Nothing like last year but not feeling great, either.

This lasted for most of it. From 30k onwards I couldn’t really decide whether I was physical or mentally stressed. But there were highlights, too. Especially Johnny leading a rendition of happy birthday half way up Clonskeagh hill.

The final few kilometres were a real struggle. I could feel my pace dropping off and I wasn’t sure if I was about to pass out from dehyration, or about to die from hyponatremia. I suspect neither and that I was actually completely fine. Things picked up for the final few hundred metres and I enjoyed crossing the finish line.

Congratulations to th other 87 Blackrock athletes that finished. Especially Gerry, completing his 61st marathon. This was only my 5th big organised chip-timed marathon. But in my defence, two weeks after completing my first, I completed my first ultra and never really looked back.

For years, I’ve watched people get lucky with autumn and winter graduations. Cold but clear days make for excellent conditions when you’re wrapped up in robes. Alas, for us doctoral candidates, the long wait ended in a day a rain. A full day. It never stopped raining the whole day.

That could only slightly dampen, and not extinguish, our spirits, though. Professor Neville Cox gave a fantastic speech, touching on the hardships so many of us had overcome to be here, the responsibility we now had to make a positive contribution, and the importance of standing up to to the anti-knowledge sentiment that society is currently wrestling with.

Then came the formal bit. It is all done in Latin. There was a lot of smiling and nodding. My parchment is also in Latin.

This was followed by a reception in the Great Hall.

I’ve been in psychology for 12 years now, and it is a long journey from initial qualification to chartership. It doesn’t really finish here: I’ve already had an email from the BPS telling me about the fellowship track. But this is a wonderful milestone to reach. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey, especially Elina, Venla and my parents. Like Formula One, it’s a team effort where one person takes all of the glory.