Regaining creativity in science: insights from conversation.

The 'early modern' (Renaissance) workshop was predicated on the idea that informal, open-ended cooperation enables participants to experience difference and develop new insights, which can lead to new ways of thinking and doing. This paper presents the insights that emerged from a conversation event that brought wide-ranging voices together from different domains in science, and across the arts and industry, to consider science leadership as we look to the future in a time of interlocking crises. The core theme identified was a need to regain creativity in science; in the methods of scientific endeavours, in the way science is produced and communicated, and in how science is experienced in society. Three key challenges for re-establishing a culture of creativity in science emerged: (i) how scientists communicate what science is and what it is for, (ii) what scientists value, and (iii) how scientists create and co-create science with and for society. Furthermore, the value of open-ended and ongoing conversation between different perspectives as a means of achieving this culture was identified and demonstrated.

Cross-disciplinary perspectives on the transition to remote education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the cancellation of clinical attachments and face-to-face teaching at medical schools across the world. Experiential learning-through simulation or direct patient contact-is essential for the development of clinical skills and procedural knowledge. Adapting this type of teaching for remote delivery is a major challenge for undergraduate medical education. It is also an opportunity for innovation in technology enhanced learning and prompts educators to embrace new ways of thinking. In this article, the authors explored how educators from different disciplines (medicine, music and performing arts) are using technology to enhance practical skills-based learning remotely. The authors, five experienced educators from different fields (surgery, medicine, music and magic), jointly documented the transition to technology enhanced remote teaching through a series of five structured conversations. Drawing from literature on distance learning in medicine and professional experience in education, the authors identified seven practice-enhancing recommendations for optimising teaching of procedural knowledge and skills. These are: (1) make a virtue out of necessity; (2) actively manage your environment; (3) make expectations clear; (4) embrace purposeful communication; (5) use digital resources; (6) be prepared for things to go wrong and (7) personalise the approach. The authors argue that widening the discourse in technology enhanced learning to include cross-disciplinary perspectives adds richness and depth to discussions. This article demonstrates a cross-disciplinary approach to addressing challenges in technology-enhanced medical education.

Impossible Movement Illusions.

Past research has used the phi phenomenon to create the illusion of one object moving through another. This article presents three optical illusions that are conceptually similar, yet little known within academic psychology. Two of the illusions have been developed within the magic community and involve the performer appearing to make a finger jump from one hand to another and a cup penetrate through another cup. The article explores the factors underpinning these illusions and describes how these factors were used to enhance a similar illusion developed outside of magic (the penetration of one hand through another).