Brian J. Ford
Encyclopedia
Brian J. Ford is an independent research biologisthttp://www.brianjford.com/05a-iobprofile.htm, author, and lecturer, who publishes on scientific issues for the general public. He has also been a television personality for more than 40 years.
between 1959 and 1961, and left before graduating to set up his own multi-disciplinary laboratory.
.
Ford's other publications range from microbial research and elucidating newly threatening infections to examining scientists' dissatisfaction with their lot. Other areas of his interests are the invention of a space microscope commissioned by Brunel University, to be used by European Space Agency , safety of the water supply and the rising incidence of head lice and bed bugs, his discovery of new phenomena in blood coagulation, the of plants excretory mechanisms of plants and investigations of the 'ingenuity' of living cells that alter our understanding of the living cell. Ford's proposal for biohazard legislation led to supportive articles in Nature
and The Times
and has led to the introduction of worldwide biohazard controls.
He has written papers on the development of science, such as an essay on scientific illustration and an 18,000-word essay on scientific publishing in the eighteenth century. One of his best known discoveries is the original specimens of Antony van Leeuwenhoek. They were sent to the Royal Society
of London in the seventeenth century and remained there until 1981 when Ford found the Leeeuwenhoek specimens hidden in the letters and he then submitted them to extensive microscopical examination using both old and new microscopes.
His scientific papers on the development of science are often remarkably detailed, notably an essay on scientific illustration http://www.brianjford.com/a-03-cambridge.htm and an extraordinary 18,000-word essay on scientific publishing in the eighteenth century http://www.brianjford.com/a-00-quaritch.htm which is the definitive source for academics.
Ford has been active in diplomacy and politics, travels extensively, and acts as a conference speaker and lecturer. He has also written for The Times
, the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard
, also writing for journals including the British Medical Journal
, Nature
, and Scientific American
. As a student he had a weekly science column on the South Wales Echo
and has since contributed columns for the Mensa
Magazine, Boz magazine, The Listener and The Guardian
.
Ford has been a guest on the BBC's Round Britain Quiz
where he partnered Lady Antonia Fraser, and Any Questions?
, presented the radio shows Science Now, Where Are You Taking Us? and Kaleidoscope, and was a founder-member of Start the Week
on BBC Radio Four with Esther Rantzen
and Richard Baker (broadcaster)
.
Many of his programmes involve proffering unrehearsed answers to the public on scientific topics, as on the Cliff Michelmore
series Whatever you think (BBC) and Science Hour with Clive Bull
( for LBC
). On television he hosted a game show Computer Challenge and the documentary series Food for Thought in Britain and Jensheits das Kanals in Germany. His recent TV appearances include presenting The Man Behind the da Vinci Code and featuring in Weird Weapons of World War II, based on his two books about WW2 (see below).
In addition to scientific research and academic lectures, Ford lectures extensively to general audiences, in the form of one-man shows on current scientific issues. A long-time science newspaper and magazine columnist, Ford's books have been published in more than 100 editions in many countries.
, Member of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
, an Honorary member of Keynes College, University of Kent
, former Fellow at the Open University
and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester
.
Ford is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, serving as a member of their council as their Zoological Secretary and is their honorary surveyor of scientific instruments. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Biology
, a former member of their council and chairman of their history network. Ford edited the book Institute of Biology: The First Fifty Years which is devoted to the history of this Institute.
He is a Fellow of Cambridge Philosophical Society
and has lectured to all the above mentioned bodies. In 2004 he was awarded a Fellowship by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Art, NESTA
(London).
Ford is a Fellow of Cardiff University
and is the President of the Association of Past Students. Ford is also a Member of the university court.
, and the president of the Society for the Application of Research (SAR) in Cambridge. Ford has been a member of Mensa
and was a director of British Mensa from 1993–1997, resigning a few months after being elected for a second term. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society in the 1960s.
Presents", from Cardiff
, Wales. Also in the show was the first appearance of Thomas Woodward, latterly known as Tom Jones
.
Ford is a popular celebrity speaker on cruise ships including the Cunard Line
ship RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
and for Seabourn Cruise Line
has spoken aboard the Seabourn Spirit. He is a guest of P&O Cruises
on vessels such as MV Aurora
and the Arcadia (cruise ship)
; for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
on the Black Watch and Braemar (ship)
; aboard the Regatta on Oceania Cruises
, and for Celebrity Cruises
among many others. His presentations are dynamic and largely extemporized.
One characteristic manifestation of Ford's iconoclastic streak is displayed in the title of one of his books, which he intentionally gave the longest and most complex title in English-language publishing history: Nonscience and the Pseudotransmogrificationalific Egocentrified Reorientational Proclivities Inherently Intracorporated In Expertistical Cerebrointellectualised Redeploymentation with Special Reference to Quasi-Notional Fashionistic Normativity, The Indoctrinationalistic Methodological Modalities and Scalar Socio-Economic Promulgationary Improvementalisationalism Predelineated Positotaxically Toward Individualistified Mass-Acceptance Gratificationalistic Securipermanentalisationary Professionism, or How To Rule The World, London: Wolfe Publishing (ISBN 0-7234-0449-6). The point of the sesquipedalian
title was to poke fun at those who conceal their lack of real expertise by using long and complicated words, whilst making the serious point that more people are fooled by these so-called experts than really should be. The book is commonly referred to simply as Nonscience
, which is itself a play on nonsense.
Also worthy of note is that Ford has also been a rock & roll keyboards player. He played with guitarist Dave Edmunds
and has occasionally performed in recent years. Ford has been active in the diplomatic and political world and is a trained marksman. He can pilot aeroplanes, ski and scuba-dive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
Education
Ford attended Cardiff UniversityCardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
between 1959 and 1961, and left before graduating to set up his own multi-disciplinary laboratory.
Work
Ford has campaigned on the mis-use of forensic data in courts and the misuse of dangerous germs, which have resulted in new laws being passed. Ford's current research interests include e-learning, for which he is based at the University of LeicesterUniversity of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
.
Ford's other publications range from microbial research and elucidating newly threatening infections to examining scientists' dissatisfaction with their lot. Other areas of his interests are the invention of a space microscope commissioned by Brunel University, to be used by European Space Agency , safety of the water supply and the rising incidence of head lice and bed bugs, his discovery of new phenomena in blood coagulation, the of plants excretory mechanisms of plants and investigations of the 'ingenuity' of living cells that alter our understanding of the living cell. Ford's proposal for biohazard legislation led to supportive articles in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and has led to the introduction of worldwide biohazard controls.
He has written papers on the development of science, such as an essay on scientific illustration and an 18,000-word essay on scientific publishing in the eighteenth century. One of his best known discoveries is the original specimens of Antony van Leeuwenhoek. They were sent to the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London in the seventeenth century and remained there until 1981 when Ford found the Leeeuwenhoek specimens hidden in the letters and he then submitted them to extensive microscopical examination using both old and new microscopes.
His scientific papers on the development of science are often remarkably detailed, notably an essay on scientific illustration http://www.brianjford.com/a-03-cambridge.htm and an extraordinary 18,000-word essay on scientific publishing in the eighteenth century http://www.brianjford.com/a-00-quaritch.htm which is the definitive source for academics.
Ford has been active in diplomacy and politics, travels extensively, and acts as a conference speaker and lecturer. He has also written for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, also writing for journals including the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
, Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, and Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
. As a student he had a weekly science column on the South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
and has since contributed columns for the Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
Magazine, Boz magazine, The Listener and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Ford has been a guest on the BBC's Round Britain Quiz
Round Britain Quiz
Round Britain Quiz is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio...
where he partnered Lady Antonia Fraser, and Any Questions?
Any Questions?
Any Questions? is a topical debate radio programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:It is broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on Friday evenings and repeated on Saturday afternoons, when it is followed by a phone-in response programme, Any Answers?, previously a postal response slot...
, presented the radio shows Science Now, Where Are You Taking Us? and Kaleidoscope, and was a founder-member of Start the Week
Start the Week
Start the Week is a discussion programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 which began in April 1970. The current presenter is the former BBC political editor Andrew Marr...
on BBC Radio Four with Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
and Richard Baker (broadcaster)
Richard Baker (broadcaster)
Richard Baker OBE is a British broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the BBC News from 1954 to 1982. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first person to read the BBC Television News in 1954. At one time he lived in Barnet, North London...
.
Many of his programmes involve proffering unrehearsed answers to the public on scientific topics, as on the Cliff Michelmore
Cliff Michelmore
Arthur Clifford "Cliff" Michelmore CBE is a British television presenter and producer. He is best known for the BBC television programme Tonight, which he presented from 1957 to 1965....
series Whatever you think (BBC) and Science Hour with Clive Bull
Clive Bull
Bull Clive is an award-winning radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC 97.3 in London, England.-Background:...
( for LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
). On television he hosted a game show Computer Challenge and the documentary series Food for Thought in Britain and Jensheits das Kanals in Germany. His recent TV appearances include presenting The Man Behind the da Vinci Code and featuring in Weird Weapons of World War II, based on his two books about WW2 (see below).
In addition to scientific research and academic lectures, Ford lectures extensively to general audiences, in the form of one-man shows on current scientific issues. A long-time science newspaper and magazine columnist, Ford's books have been published in more than 100 editions in many countries.
Fellowships
Ford is a Fellow of Cardiff UniversityCardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, Member of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, an Honorary member of Keynes College, University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, former Fellow at the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
.
Ford is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, serving as a member of their council as their Zoological Secretary and is their honorary surveyor of scientific instruments. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Biology
Institute of Biology
The Institute of Biology was a professional body for biologists, primarily those working in the United Kingdom. The Institute was founded in 1950 by the Biological Council: the then umbrella body for Britain's many learned biological societies...
, a former member of their council and chairman of their history network. Ford edited the book Institute of Biology: The First Fifty Years which is devoted to the history of this Institute.
He is a Fellow of Cambridge Philosophical Society
Cambridge Philosophical Society
The Cambridge Philosophical Society is a scientific society at University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of theology and medicine...
and has lectured to all the above mentioned bodies. In 2004 he was awarded a Fellowship by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Art, NESTA
NESTA
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts is an independent endowment in the United Kingdom established by an Act of Parliament in 1998....
(London).
Ford is a Fellow of Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
and is the President of the Association of Past Students. Ford is also a Member of the university court.
Other positions
He was the first British President of the European Union of Science Journalists' Associations, founding Chairman of the Science and Technology Authors Committee at the Society of AuthorsSociety of Authors
The Society of Authors is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights .It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson The Society of Authors (UK) is a...
, and the president of the Society for the Application of Research (SAR) in Cambridge. Ford has been a member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
and was a director of British Mensa from 1993–1997, resigning a few months after being elected for a second term. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society in the 1960s.
As entertainer
Ford's first television appearances included playing boogie piano on "Donald PeersDonald Peers
Donald Peers was a popular Welsh singer. His best remembered rendition and signature song was "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook".-Biography:...
Presents", from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales. Also in the show was the first appearance of Thomas Woodward, latterly known as Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
.
Ford is a popular celebrity speaker on cruise ships including the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
ship RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
and for Seabourn Cruise Line
Seabourn Cruise Line
Seabourn Cruise Line is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The line operates all around the world, from short seven-day Caribbean cruises to exotic 100+ day cruises around the world...
has spoken aboard the Seabourn Spirit. He is a guest of P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
on vessels such as MV Aurora
MV Aurora
MV Aurora is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At 76,000 tonnes, Aurora is the fifth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises...
and the Arcadia (cruise ship)
Arcadia (cruise ship)
Arcadia is a cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At 83,000 tonnes, Arcadia is the third largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises...
; for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a UK based, Norwegian-owned cruise shipping line with four cruise ships. The company headquarters are in Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom and is owned by Bonheur and Ganger Rolf. The company is part of the Fred...
on the Black Watch and Braemar (ship)
Braemar (ship)
MS Braemar is a cruise ship, currently operating with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.-History:...
; aboard the Regatta on Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a Miami, Florida, United States-based shipping company that operates four luxury cruise ships on world-wide itenaries. It is currently the world’s largest upscale cruise line, offering good-quality food and itineraries at a cheap price when compared to other upscale cruise lines...
, and for Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
among many others. His presentations are dynamic and largely extemporized.
One characteristic manifestation of Ford's iconoclastic streak is displayed in the title of one of his books, which he intentionally gave the longest and most complex title in English-language publishing history: Nonscience and the Pseudotransmogrificationalific Egocentrified Reorientational Proclivities Inherently Intracorporated In Expertistical Cerebrointellectualised Redeploymentation with Special Reference to Quasi-Notional Fashionistic Normativity, The Indoctrinationalistic Methodological Modalities and Scalar Socio-Economic Promulgationary Improvementalisationalism Predelineated Positotaxically Toward Individualistified Mass-Acceptance Gratificationalistic Securipermanentalisationary Professionism, or How To Rule The World, London: Wolfe Publishing (ISBN 0-7234-0449-6). The point of the sesquipedalian
Longest word in English
The identity of the longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes a word in the English language, as well as how length should be compared...
title was to poke fun at those who conceal their lack of real expertise by using long and complicated words, whilst making the serious point that more people are fooled by these so-called experts than really should be. The book is commonly referred to simply as Nonscience
Nonscience
Nonscience is a book which claims to have the longest and most complex title in publishing history.Its full title is Nonscience and the Pseudotransmogrificationalific Egocentrified Reorientational Proclivities Inherently Intracorporated In Expertistical Cerebrointellectualised Redeploymentation...
, which is itself a play on nonsense.
Also worthy of note is that Ford has also been a rock & roll keyboards player. He played with guitarist Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
and has occasionally performed in recent years. Ford has been active in the diplomatic and political world and is a trained marksman. He can pilot aeroplanes, ski and scuba-dive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
Authors describing Ford
- Stewart Williams, describes Ford in his early days as a rhythm and blues pianist. Report is illustrated by a photograph by John Couch. Reported in "Days and nights of hot jazz in Cardiff", South Wales EchoSouth Wales EchoThe South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
, November 11, 1977. - Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
discusses Ford's views on place names in his diary book Back Drops . - Germaine GreerGermaine GreerGermaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
quotes Ford's view on sexuality, the famous 'jam squirting a in a donut' concept, from his book Patterns of Sex. Uses the quote also as a chapter heading. Reported in "Better no sex than bad sex", The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
Review, p 33, January 13, 1984. - Victor SerebriakoffVictor SerebriakoffVictor Serebriakoff was one of the early members and a leading light of Mensa.Serebriakoff is known for his contributions to lumber technology, writing Intelligence Quotient tests, as well as organising and promoting Mensa.-Family background:Victor Serebriakoff was born in Camberwell, London,...
describes Ford giving his lectures as a "brilliant autodidact". - Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
describes the effects of Ford lecturing on an audience of other authors in Bury my heart at WH Smith's. - David Parry-JonesDavid Parry-JonesDavid Parry-Jones is a Welsh sports commentator and writer. He was a longtime presenter on BBC Wales Today and is a former rugby analyst for BBC Radio 5...
discusses Brian J. Ford on his early television programs, with a photograph, in Action Replay. - Professor Philippe Boutibonnes expands on Ford's important research on the Leeuwenhoek microscopes.
- Sir Colin Spedding discusses Ford's views on the mechanisms of innovation.
- Prof Curt Bonk profiles Brian Ford in his recent book.