I’m a New Zealand writer with over thirty years hands-on professional experience as a published author and in publishing. My main interests are in the sciences – physics, particularly, though I’m deeply curious about a lot of stuff, especially the human condition. I have qualifications in writing, music and anthropology among other fields, and hold multiple post-graduate degrees in history. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society at University College, London. However, I don’t define myself as a historian and prefer not to be labelled as one. History is but one of the things I do. What’s more important to me is understanding people, whose story is told by history and by science, sociology and philosophy – aspects of which I learned post-grad under a former student of both Karl Popper and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Did I mention I also like science fiction? And fantasy? I’m a huge Tolkien fan. I write a lot – fiction (mostly fantasy and science-fiction) and non-fiction (well, yes, it’s mostly history, but I’ve done science and engineering too). My published writing, sold on merit, includes over 550 articles, academic papers, reviews, novellas and short stories, and over 50 books on topics ranging from travel guides to biography, engineering, military and social history. I’ve been published principally by Penguin Random House.
This week’s little-used English word is credal. It’s sometimes also spelt ‘creedal’, and means ‘relating to a creed’. Your challenge? Write a sentence (or two) in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2017
Eyes across the US will be pointing skywards today as the total solar eclipse sweeps across America – the first visible from the continguous continental US since 1979. There’s been a buzz about fake ‘eclipse glasses’ on the market, which doesn’t surprise me. Humanity has a very dark side and, of late, it hasn’t been … More The solar eclipse – and what it means
I’ve always been intrigued by the way one novelty or another is often seized by society and, briefly, becomes an all-consuming passion. I’m not just talking about Rubiks Cubes or those irritating finger spinners. I’m talking atomic. Back in the 1950s and into the early 1960s, atomic power was ‘in’. I mean, really ‘in’. This … More Atomic cars and nuclear trains – 1950s style
This week the world seemed to be well down the road to hell in a handbasket. There is, I think, no need to recap the events that have been flooding social media and news feeds. If this is the shape of where things are going, I despair for the world. What’s going on? What the … More Is the world is going to hell in a handbasket?
This week’s really obscure English word is gerb. It’s sometimes also spelt ‘gerbe’, and means ‘something resembling a sheaf of wheat’. Your challenge? Write a sentence (or two) in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2017
It’s two years this week since my Mum passed away. She was hugely interested in the why of the universe and usually asked me if she wanted something about it explained. It’s a while since I’ve done a science post, so I thought I’d run one this week. It’s about why our law of energy … More When energy isn’t conserved – a physics conundrum
The special effects for the latest Planet of the Apes movie are being made right in the city where I live – Wellington – by Weta Workshop. That’s very cool, but I’ve always found the concept rather silly. The original 1968 movie took the human/chimp relationship and reversed it, largely as a statement against human … More Requiem for the planet of the apes
