Talk:J. D. Bernal

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[Untitled]

THE NEW BIOGRAPHY OF 'SAGE' (SIC) BY ANDREW BROWN, PUBLISHED BY OUP, 2005.

Has anyone read it? What do you think of it? I was not impressed; I found it rather boring in parts, but good on Rosalind Franklin who worked for him at Birbeck College, London! Over to you, Alun? MP

Dorothy Hodgkins research career didn't start with Bernal, rather she worked with "Tiny" Powell for a year in her undergraduate degree (In Oxford chemistry the 4th year of your undergraduate course is full-time research) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.53.116.179 (talk) 17:33, 19 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Mulberry Harbour

He was not a joint inventor of the Mulberry Harbour, that claim which appears on [1] is wrong. According to the book mentioned in the section above, he was consulted by Major Steer-Webster about the effects of waves on the artificial harbor. (Andrew Brown, "J. D. Bernal, The Sage of Science", page 229. look also at Solly Zuckerman speech at Bernal memorial service on page 477) Avihu (talk) 18:05, 6 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Master of Birkbeck College?

The article states that "In 1937 he became Professor of Physics at Birkbeck College, University of London, and later Master". According to Andrew Brown, "J. D. Bernal, The Sage of Science" John Lockwood was the Master during all the period of Bernal in Birkbeck, and if anything, after his stroke in 1963 Bernal was given the newly created crystallography department, which was smaller then his previous physics department. Avihu (talk) 20:05, 5 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Stonyhurst

In the article on the Alumni of Stonyhurst, Bernal is given as one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.148.75.94 (talk) 10:41, 31 July 2009 (UTC) Only believed by the credulous. Xxanthippe (talk) 11:36, 31 July 2009 (UTC). It will be interesting to see Xxanthippe's proof of anything said about Bernal's education. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.148.75.94 (talk) 15:56, 31 July 2009 (UTC) Many web-sites say he was at Stonyhurst. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.148.75.94 (talk) 17:18, 31 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Flat Earth

I'd like to add Bernal to a list of historians and other writers who created or promoted the flat-earth myth, i.e., the now-discredited idea that Medieval Christians believed in a Flat Earth. --Uncle Ed (talk) 12:45, 19 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Martin Bernal, when was he born

In this article Bernals son Martin is born in 1936, but in the article Martin Bernal he is born in 1937. What is right, what is wrong? --13Peewit (talk) 23:25, 29 August 2010 (UTC) 1937 is the correct data according to Margaret Bernal's biog in Oxford Dictionary of Nation Biog Will amendCj1340 (talk) 13:32, 30 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Davy Faraday Laboratory

Are we looking at Humphrey Davy and Michael Faraday here? Varlaam (talk) 23:21, 4 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality

Is it not more correct to say that Bernal was "one of Ireland and the United Kingdom's most well-known..." rather than "one of the United Kingdom's most well-known..." I know he studied and worked almost exclusively in England but he was native Irish by birth which this overview doesn't acknowledge. 78.114.139.104 (talk) 23:41, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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List as an atheist

His inclusion as an atheist was removed as supposed Overcategorization.

Atheism is not a trivial matter.

It does not follow from being a Former Christian, or a supporter of the Communist Party. Some of these were Theists or Deists.

--GwydionM (talk) 12:39, 24 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It says he is an atheist in the article.--Jack Upland (talk) 20:52, 24 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Trivia

This article seems to have accumulated some trivial information:

his grandfather Jacob Genese, properly Ginesi, had adopted the family name Bernal of his paternal grandmother around 1837
Whilst at Cambridge, he also became known as "Sage", a nickname given to him about 1920 by a young woman working in Charles Kay Ogden's Bookshop at the corner of Bridge Street.
His membership evidently lapsed when he returned to Cambridge in 1927 and was not renewed until 1933, and he may have lost his card again shortly after this.--Jack Upland (talk) 20:51, 24 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'd have thought these were useful details to include. --GwydionM (talk) 08:37, 25 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

OK, taking the second one, which is the worst. We could say that he gained the nickname of "Sage" at Cambridge. Instead, we are told more and more detail, culminating in the name of the bookshop and its address. I hope there is a plaque saying, "It was here, circa 1920, that a mysterious young woman called J D Bernal 'Sage' while selling him a second-hand copy of 'Rosemary on Time'." This is extremely trivial. And it seems dubious. How do we know this account of his nickname is correct? Why would a bookshop employee give someone a nickname? And moreover why do we care? The nickname "Sage" is not mentioned again in the the text of the article.--Jack Upland (talk) 09:33, 25 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

it seems odd to work on an encyclopedia and hate facts. I'd say the more details, the better. Cost is insignificant. --GwydionM (talk) 10:03, 25 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

An encyclopedia is not simply a collection of random facts. No one has raised the issue of "cost", so that is a red herring.--Jack Upland (talk) 21:47, 26 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There should be no doubt about this last comment. An encyclopedia is not a trivia resource. Zaslav (talk) 07:42, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Article title

What is the reason to title the articel with the full name? Bernal was always known as "J. D. Bernal" professionally. That is how he signed his papers and books. Shouldn't that be the article title on the principle that we use the most common name by which the person is known? Example: J.R.R. Tolkien. Zaslav (talk) 03:31, 31 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would support a change to J. D. Bernal, but not Sage Bernal.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:49, 31 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot disagree, even if it were "Sage" Bernal. Zaslav (talk) 07:39, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you to User:Anthony Appleyard for the move. Zaslav (talk) 20:17, 16 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Non-sentence

There, according to Goldsmith from 1914 to 1919 and found it "extremely unpleasant" and most of his fellow students "bored him", but his younger brother Kevin, who was also there, was "some consolation", and Brown claims that "he seemed to adjust easily to life" there.

No main verb. And there is no referencing of 'Goldsmith' anywhere in the article, except under Sources. Valetude (talk) 15:26, 10 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]