which it occurred . He brought to light the fact that all white supremacists descend from Africans , and many neo-Nazis descend from Jews . Even by showing us his ‘ genetic makeup ’ from an ancestry test , one could see that race is not a word that can be defined easily , when so many people from different cultures share the same DNA .
History plays a large part in racism , but it is a relatively recent social construct . Dr Rutherford pointed out that Greek and Roman literature refers to skin pigmentation , but this was not used to classify people . This only started with the taxonomy of the Enlightenment ; Dr Rutherford showed Linnaeus ’ s shocking , risible classification of humans by race . With the help of this book , and awareness of this issue , we hope that racism can begin to be overcome .
Jemima Alston , Lower Sixth
In his first talk , to Sixth Formers and Year 11 students , he explained cosmology , with particular attention to dark matter and dark energy – mysterious forces that deeply affect our universe . In his second talk , which attracted over 250 people from the local community and other schools , as well as Sevenoaks students and staff , he explained how the LIGO team had detected gravitational waves from the collision of black holes , 100 years after Einstein had predicted them . Both talks were awe-inspiring , and allowed students and members of the public alike to hear about a side of physics we do not usually study in a classroom .
Sian McAllister , Lower Sixth
Dr Adam Rutherford : How to Argue with a Racist
Geneticist , author and broadcaster Dr Adam Rutherford was welcomed to The Space for a talk on his latest book , How to Argue with a Racist .
Dr Rutherford ’ s insightful lecture highlighted an increasing willingness to talk about racism – though he pointed out that this did not necessarily mean racism was on the rise – and the history from
DR Giles Yeo : Gene Eating
Dr Giles Yeo , Principal Research Associate at Cambridge Neuroscience , author of Gene Eating and BBC presenter , visited Sevenoaks in January to highlight the myths of dieting through the power of science . He was welcomed by an enthusiastic audience of students , parents , staff and members of the local community .
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2019-2020 11