Post written by David Bawden and Lyn Robinson And little he knew of the things that ink may do, how it can mark a dead man’sthoughts for the wonder of later years, and tell of happenings that are gone clearaway, and be a voice for us out of the dark of time, and save many… Continue reading A voice out of the dark of time; the once and future LIS discipline
Author: dbawden
Information re-reviewed
The nature of information has been reviewed and analysed many times, and from different perspectives, as noted in a previous article by myself and Lyn Robinson. New reviews can always give new insight, and a particularly illuminating one is given by Luke Tredinnick from the School of Computing and Digital Media at London Metropolitan University,… Continue reading Information re-reviewed
The Lamb, Bloomsbury [Old London]
Lamb exterior. Image from https://www.thelamblondon.com/ Operating as a pub on the same site under the same name since the 1720s, the Lamb in Bloomsbury's Lamb's Conduit Street (both named after the local philanthropist William Lambe) certainly counts as Old London. Although it has been thoroughly restored, that was done in Victorian times, and it remains… Continue reading The Lamb, Bloomsbury [Old London]
Dark matter and information revisited
In a previous post, I described as "over excited" the idea that the mysterious "dark matter", that hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light, and which is invoked to explain anomalous astronomical observations, may be, in some sense, "raw" information, unattached to conventional matter. Remarkably enough, a new theoretical approach initiated by the theoretical physicist… Continue reading Dark matter and information revisited
Why everything is complex
A recent article in Quanta magazine reminds us of the on-going interest in a rather startling proposal regarding the status of information, its relation to complexity, in the physical and biological realms. This proposes that complexity increases over time, inexorably and inevitably, in the physical universe as well as in living systems. It was, and… Continue reading Why everything is complex
Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich [Old London]
You can't get much more Old London than the Trafalgar Tavern on the riverside at Greenwich, just past the Old Royal Naval College, with historic buildings to either side and behind, and modernity of Canary Wharf across the Thames at the front. It even has its own Wikipedia page. The Trafalgar Tavern today (image from… Continue reading Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich [Old London]
Silver plus one
Yes, I should have done it a year ago, 25 years after the first post on the Occasional Informationist blog was made on 4th April 2009. Ah well, better late than never, for a reflection of sorts. In particular, a reflection on why keep a blog like this going. After all, we are assured that… Continue reading Silver plus one
London and the 17th century
I have never really liked the seventeenth century; maybe after having to study it at school, seemingly interminably. Rather too much plague, fire, civil war, religious persecution, and Dutchmen doing bad things on the Medway. Yes, of course, Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton, but even so. Sometimes, however, reading a single book can change one's… Continue reading London and the 17th century
Libraries of Science at the Royal Society
An interesting meeting with a full-house audience in the opulent surroundings of the Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace last week (14th March 2025). 'Libraries of Science' is an apt enough title, although the topics covered were mostly more specific. Talks focused mainly on aspects of the libraries of British learned and societies, from Antiquaries… Continue reading Libraries of Science at the Royal Society
Ravi Shankar Bhel Poori House [Old London]
Serving vegetarian Indian food on the same spot, and alleged with the same green coloured frontage, since 1982, Ravi Shankar Bhel Poori House certainly qualifies as Old London. One of a cluster of long-established restaurants on Drummond Street serving South Ian food for decades, it has survived economic gloom, pandemic, and the disruption of the… Continue reading Ravi Shankar Bhel Poori House [Old London]
The Occasional Informationist 