My bedside table is laden with books the width of doorstops so with the holiday fuelled brain fog I’m opting instead for light, fluffy reading material. Like who designed the Messerschmitt aeroplane, quantum physics, and 500 ways to cook squash.
Do you know who was named Australian of the Year in 2018? No cheating, no referring to Dr Google please.
No, I didn’t know either. Even without holiday brain fog I was clueless.
So I took this question to the people for a response via the Pub Quiz method. This is the Aussie way of determining the general consensus. You walk into a pub and ask the drinkers for their opinion. Is the Prime Minister doing a decent job? What do you think about the Dow Index? Is Prince Harry really intellectually challenged?
I wasn’t anywhere near a pub so resorted to asking the question during a group discussion on Zoom during which at least two of us had a glass of wine in our hands which is pretty much the same thing, I guess.
No one was able to name the Aussie of the Year for 2018, though footballer Adam Goodes – the 2014 Winner – was one suggestion.
Michelle Yvonne Simmons and her team created the world’s first transistor made from a single atom and the world’s thinnest wire in 2012.
Professor Simmons, AO FRS FAA FRSN FTSE , has twice been an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow and is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. She is the Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology and is recognised internationally as the creator of the field of atomic electronics.
In 2018 she was named the Australian of the Year for her work and dedication to quantum information science. In 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of her “distinguished service to science education as a leader in quantum and atomic electronics and as a role model.”
Isn’t there something dreadfully wrong when we can remember when Pat Rafter, tennis player, Steve Waugh, cricketer, and John Farnham, entertainer, were all recipients of this annual award but the name of a quantum scientist totally baffles us?
On to recipe Number 6 for my home grown squash. Squash in Tomato, Onion and Basil Sauce. Only another 494 to go. Who knew squash were such prolific producers?
Brizzy Mays Books and Bruschetta 
I guess it’s easy to remember sports or celebrity because that’s what people seem to value. I was at dinner with friends last night. We talked about pretty much everything except award winning scientists or science
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I’m hearing you, LA, though our table conversation of late has been rather uncomplimentary regarding our sports stars.
Perhaps we should make more of an effort to acknowledge our scientists, especially the females who have risen to the higher echelons of their field? Add to To Do List.
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It comes down to how you view people. We have a friend who will write on Facebook posts about how pieces of classical music move him…very eloquently. Others think he’s pompous. We’ve entered a worked where being an intellectual is given a bad rap because intellectual is seen as elitist. But that’s a whole other thing
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Maybe we should try raising the lowest common denominator, but yes, a whole other thing. Enjoy your day…
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👍
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My bedside tables and front of already filled bookshelves were so laden with “books to read”, that having heard this referred to as “tsundoku”, I decided to post about and list them https://how-would-you-know.com/2023/01/tsundoku-an-aspirational-list-of-books-to-read-this-year.html
I like a post that ranges from quantum physics to recipes for squash – it’s what blogging was made for…
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Looking forward to seeing you around the A-Z Challenge 😊
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We don’t know much about Australian sports. I would enjoy hearing more as always about your piece of the woods!
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Australia is very sports orientated. Unfortunately, since the big $ have amalgamated with most sports it’s not so much about the game itself but the “celebrities”.
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And isn’t your football, soccer?
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We have several different codes of football, including soccer. Never sat through a game in my life.
It’s the weather and open spaces that encourage sports participation. We are a lucky country in that we have so many options to get out there and “have a go”.
I used to watch a lot of sport. Totally disinterested these days when a 20 year old footy player can earn the same in three years as I could in three lifetimes. Seems a bit skewed to me….
Have a beaut week Cupcake:)
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only 3 lifetimes…wow, hope yet.
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Interesting – I bet you won’t forget her now!! And squash is always tasty. I just wish Sparky’s squash would produce a greater quantity!
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Muri, I have six squash plants and for the past week I’ve been taking 3 or 4 fruits from each plant. That’s a lot of squash!
No, I wont forget her. I was tinkering with the idea of doing the A -Z Challenge again this year. Something fun and fluffy like Errol Flynn Trivia or Aussie Slang, but now so angered I might resort to Women who achieve (again).
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