Tim Dowling: how not to interview eminent scientists – a control freak’s guide

It was supposed to be a meeting between a great mind and mine.

Instead, I was plunged into darkness and did some swearing The transition to owning an electric car is in its final phase: our electricity supplier is set to install a smart meter in conjunction with a special tariff that will allow us to charge the car cheaply in the dead of night.

After that, all I have to do is live long enough to see a return on my considerable investment.

In the meantime – as sometimes happens in the course of my work – I need to interview some eminent scientists.

In my experience eminent scientists are easy to reach – they tend to be attached to academic institutions that readily provide their contact details – and surprisingly willing to spend an hour explaining their work to a moron.

But there is always a period – the long interval after I’ve emailed four or five, and before any of them have answered – that I begin to suspect a conspiracy of silence.

What is it, I think, about my oily emails that they don’t like? Continue reading...