I made a bit of a mess of this first time around so here goes again. On October 12 2012 I saw someone
I greatly admire and frankly rather fancy turn from the years of pixels to
persona. My fears that I might be disappointed were unfounded – the truth is that the charm,
polish, and, IMO, beauty on TV are not an act; with Alice May Roberts
it seems the joy of what you see is what you get. Phew!
Having got that out of
the way (or my system) how did she do with her exposition of the
effect of Ice Ages on the lives of the megafauna, early man and us –
homo sapiens? Very well indeed and for a very important reason.
When Birmingham
University created the chair of “engaging the public with science”
and awarded it to then Dr Alice Roberts, anatomist, anthropologist of
Bristol Uni and the BBC they got a bit of stick. And a few
(misogynists?) even challenged her right to the post. Codswallop.
Never has there been a time when engaging the public with science was
more crucial. One only has to see, hear, even feel the activities of
the fundamental Christian and Islamists et al to see how critical it
is to improve public understanding of our world, our place and our
origins. Dawkins can rant but something more subtle is essential. And
here she is; Credible, communicative and charming. Who else then would Birmingham choose? I'd say she was a coup.
There is a fine line
between a worthy but dull lecture and an enjoyable evening out. This was part of a Royal Geographical Society series and Alice delivered a solidly enjoyable, entertaining and informative
discourse on the role of the ice ages in the development of man. That fine line was trodden with consummate skill and charm by Alice
Roberts at Kings Lynn (how lucky they are to get her too.)
This was not only
marked out by the accessibility of her content and delivery but her
enthusiastic commitment to being correct and having evidence. Time
and again she showed us what had been found, told us what was
believed and then toured the doubts that nagged at her and would lead
to further investigation. Along the way we entertainingly learned
that gaining the knowledge and the insights is not a comfortable
business. The BBC does not provide central heating on the Russian
steppe or 5-star hotels on the ice shelf. An honestly nervy Alice
explained how she learned to handle a rifle where there were Polar
Bears (although I cannot imagine her using it even in anger) but picked a cliff edge pitch for her tent to put her colleagues
between her and the bear access point. We heard too how she shared a frankly disgusting
tepee affair with 11 snoring geezers! Our sense of envy died a little
on the word eleven!
But we learned too how
climate works, how we are even now within an ice age, or possibly just
leaving one, or even in the midst of a much shorter Heinrich event.
Whichever, the point was that not responding to our own worsening of
the climate change situation was not really an option. And talk of “refugia” –
last safe places for creatures overwhelmed by climate change - was
given a scary climax with the fate of the Neanderthals. These
probable cousins but certain companions as the ice descended from the
north appear to have ended up clinging to Europe on the Rock of
Gibraltar; I've been ther so know how they felt. Whether they just died out or modern man took a hand is not certain. Either way they are
no more.
No more too are the
mammoths – for which Alice has a fondness that should worry her own
naughty terrier. But many miles north of Gibraltar the last few were
similarly struggling on an Arctic island. Indeed the very last hung
on until about 7,000 years before the modern era. Just missed them then.
And we got a
preview of the CGI for her new programmes on BBC – arriving next
year and then it was questions. And if anyone had any doubt of her commitment
to veracity it came soon enough as the questions took her outside
her own comfort zone: “I am very sorry but I haven't a clue” she
said. To the truly sharing mind the acceptance of Homeric frailty is
a proof of competence. Loved it Alice, but then I'm biased.
