This morning the Today programme had a short news item about the sort of questions asked by Oxbridge Dons to potential students. My favourite was the following:
“Every person alive today has a molecule of Caesar’s last breath in them, true or false”.
It’s just a beautiful way of putting a scientific question and also inspires thoughts of conservation, transformation, meaning of life. The question is seductive and dangerous, and feels like stepping onto the Yellow Brick Road.
It certainly beats the questions I’ve been asked at my own job interviews, which are usually along the lines of “how many Bic Razors are sold in the day?”. Perhaps relevant to the job but a bit cold and uninvolving, don’t you think?
no comments