Magnus Pyke

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Magnus Pyke

Born December 29, 1908 (1908-12-29)
Paddington, London, England
Died October 19, 1992 (aged 83)
Known for Television presenter

Dr. Magnus Alfred Pyke (Paddington, London, England 29 December 1908 – 19 October 1992) was a British scientist and media figure, who, although apparently quite eccentric and playing up to the mad scientist stereotype, succeeded in explaining science to a lay audience. He was known for his enthusiastic way of waving his arms around as he spoke.

Born in Paddington, London [1] and educated at St Paul's School, he then moved to Canada for seven years and studied agriculture at McGill University, Montreal before continuing his studies on his return to England at University College London. Pyke rose to prominence as a young food researcher working for the wartime Minister of Food, Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton. Even then, he was known to be eccentric. It is said that, in an effort to cope with the problem of blood donation outstripping local storage for blood transfusion, Pyke suggested using the excess human blood to make black pudding.

Pyke was a regular panellist on the Yorkshire Television science programme Don't Ask Me from 1974 to 1979; it was later changed to Don't Just Sit There. The panel was chaired by Derek Griffiths, and other members included David Bellamy (a botanist), Dr Miriam Stoppard and Dr Robert Buckman. The programme consisted of the panel attempting to answer viewers' queries about science and the everyday world.

Pyke appears on the song, and the video, "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby, where he shouts "science" and provides other sound bites. After the video was released, he was said to be annoyed by people coming up to him and shouting "Science!" at him. His eccentric brand of humour was often heard after dinner at the Savage Club.

Pyke was injured in a robbery at his home in the early 1990s as he attempted to club the intruder with a cane, and never recovered his earlier verve. He died in 1992.

Contents

[edit] The Science Myth

Although Pyke was known for bringing science to a lay audience, in The Science Myth (and similar writings, such as Slaves Unaware?) he was also a critic of how the citizens of industrialized nations have historically been lured into social conformity by the comforts and security offered by applied sciences or technology, and the associated industrial economic propaganda and advertising. This has entailed the loss of important individual freedoms in the name of an ever-increasing gross national product or standard of living, measured monetarily, with some associated negation of independent human values, common sense and individuality, family and community, health, safety and ergonomics. In his 1962 book, he uses the Greek myth of Procrustes and his Procrustean bed as a metaphor for how citizens are forced to conform to the one-size-fits-all rigid structure of the modern industrial society. He cites associated problems such as coronary disease related to diet, psychological and social problems stemming from work related stress and training, "...softly and persistently hammered into shape until — Pinocchio in reverse — from being a living creature... becomes for forty hours an insensate puppet..." and educational systems, which "knock out of the ingenious adolescent all of the 'nonsense' of the young, this being most of his or her eagerness and ingeniousness". However, the Western work environment fails youthful expectations to an even greater extent than the schools. "At school, success is judged in terms of work, whereas in industrial life this is not so..." after young people hasten to leave school for the benefit of the social significance of the work, rather than for the work itself, they find that "Work seldom seems to the worker to have meaning or worth..." and "achievement is judged by the pay envelope which may have no relation to the difficulty of the work."[2]

Pyke professes that there are alternative systems to that of the Western industrialized nations which could retain many of the benefits of science and technology, allow a reasonable standard of living, but still make room for the good life, many aspects of which were enjoyed by pre-industrial societies. He claims that just as wise nations may not wish to retain a demanding and overbearing monarchy that requires too many unjustified sacrifices, it is "up to the nations who have committed themselves to scientific technology and power to temper the rigors of efficiency and productivity..." He criticizes misplaced values of the Western system in statements such as the following:

  • "The main body of the citizenry, the 'workers,' are kept segregated from the drones, the women at home, the children, the old and the idle. ...the necessary doctrine of the division of labor makes this regimentation necessary. But it has the effect of setting economic effort apart and dividing the day and the week into "work" and "everything else".
  • "This way of thinking has so deranged our minds that we have come to accept that only when we are actually carrying out paid industrial work are we serving our purpose on earth."
  • "To minds so deformed, the things that 'retired' people do are not considered to be of value. They are empty, merely something to do."
  • "The leisure pursuits of the senior executive seem to be corroded with competitiveness, superficial sociability, display, and conspicuous consumption. He must own an automobile of a certain size and make, not necessarily to travel in, but to prove that he can afford it."

[edit] Bibliography

  • About Chemistry
  • Automation: Its Purpose and Future
  • The Boundaries of Science
  • Butter Side Up!: The Delights of Science
  • Catering Science and Technology
  • Dr Magnus Pyke's 202 Inventions
  • Food for All the Family
  • Food Science and Technology
  • Food & Society: Fact, Fallacy, Religion & Folklore: the Background to Scientific Nutrition
  • The Human Predicament: An anthology with questions by Cedric Blackman
  • Long life: Expectations for old age
  • Man and Food
  • Manual of nutrition 1947
  • Nothing Like Science
  • Our Future
  • Red Rag to a Bull!
  • The Science Century
  • The Science Myth, The MacMillan Company, 1962
  • The Six Lives of Pyke
  • Slaves Unaware?: A mid-century View of Applied Science
  • Success in Nutrition (Success Studybooks)
  • Synthetic Food
  • Technological eating;: Or, Where does the fish-finger point?
  • There and Back
  • Townsman's Food
  • Weird & Wonderful Science Facts

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ GRO Register of Births: DEC 1908 1a 64 PADDINGTON - Magnus Alfred Pyke
  2. ^ The Science Myth, The MacMillan Company, 1962

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pyke, Magnus
SHORT DESCRIPTION Scientist
DATE OF BIRTH 1908-12-29
PLACE OF BIRTH Paddington, London, England
DATE OF DEATH 1992-10-19
PLACE OF DEATH