Nominative determinism 4

A Consuming Experience

Blogging, internet, software, mobile, telecomms, gadgets, technology, media and digital rights from the perspective of a consumer / user, including reviews, rants and random thoughts. Aimed at intelligent non-geeks, who are all too often unnecessarily disenfranchised by excessive use of tech jargon, this blog aims to be informative and practical without being patronising. With guides, tutorials, tips - and the occasional ever so slightly naughty observation.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Add this post to Del.icio.us, Digg or Furl | Create Watchlist

Nominative determinism is one of my favourite subjects, and one which I've blogged about before (e.g. this post).

So, just to share a few more from the Feedback column of New Scientist (who are OK about my doing this as long as I credit and link to them).

One of the fiercest critics of Elisabeth A. Lloyd's book about the role of the female orgasm in evolution, "The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the science of evolution" is a professor called - John Alcock. While the leader of a trial of a contraceptive implant for men is one Pierre-Marc Bouloux.

Then there is a dentist called Dr Chiew, a senior forestry officer named Pollard, a weather presenter called Blizzard, a lecturer in peace studies called Atack, an author of a book on mountain navigation named Cliff, a firearms store owner called Bang, an accounts receivable department worker named Billings - and the man in charge of wildlife on the Tube system is named Mole!

Finally, from New Scientist's own pages, but no one seems to have spotted it (or at least told Feedback) - on p.19 of their 16 July 2005 issue an item reports on a new species of deep sea fish. The leader of the team which discovered it? A Steven Haddock.