The future is bright as chemistry | Andrew Parsons | TEDxSheffieldHallamUniversity

...we are surrounded by chemistry and chemicals and thinking of chemistry differently can help us orchestrate a brighter future. Andrew Parsons talks about how everything around us contains chemicals, and though the term 'natural' has been used to reflect less harmful products, this is not necessarily true. Andrew Parsons is a Professor in Chemistry at the University of York. He has a background in organic chemistry, particularly the synthesis of organic compounds. In 2017, he delivered a first ever University of York massive open online course (MOOC), called Exploring Everyday Chemistry. Following three re-runs, the course has attracted over 14,000 learners from over 100 countries. In 2018, Andy was awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy in recognition of his inspirational and innovative teaching. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@andyparsons8793]

“Steam cleaning - natural and chemical-free”! A chemist fights back against the misleading scientific information commonly used in advertising.

[@Bobbius-il9rf]

Hilarious and informative as always 😂😁. Thank you for doing this, sad I've only just seen it. Andrew you are the reason I ended up studying Chemistry at the University of York. I hope I can hear some of your songs some time. Stay awesome, you always were and your passion kept a lot of people going. 🙃 [student at UoY some 8-11 years ago]

[@andyparsons8793]

Thank you for such a kind and positive reply. Made my day!

[@Bobbius-il9rf]

Peronsally I find a lot of scientific research to be like "fishing in the dark". (Plus theory is awesome and we can't devalue that - comment on presentation). They get provided a rod and some lines and a hook with bait and cast out in a range of directions and hope they may catch a fish. But no luck. Then they may think the rod is rubbish, so ask for more money to get a better one. Still no luck. Then they think the fishing line is too poor to catch anything other than rubbish. So they get more money to optimise that. Oh maybe the hook is the wrong size or two, three, four are needed... etc. Then right at the end of all that they realise they were stood on dry land the whole time and need to be on a boat because fish don't tend to be seen walking around. What would be far better is using the brain much more first, before we waste all the time and money on silly equipment (or anything else this word could be replaced with) that may have not even been the real problem all along.