I got to watch one of the people I admire most today give a speech at my university.

Justice Michael Kirby gave one of his final speeches as a Justice of the Australian High Court before he retires next year.

In Origin of Species, Darwin draws on inductive and deductive methods in order to justify his theories on natural selection. As part of his inductive method, Darwin draws on observations of particular species as evidence for a greater phenomenon. For example, Darwin uses evidence of bird breeders through a number of generations selecting males of the species with finer plumage having a marked effect on the species, that females in nature selecting males with melodious calls and beauty would also have a marked effect on the species (1968 p137).

A common misconception of the Medieval period is that Medieval Scholars and Physicians had a deep aversion to the practises of dissecting and autopsying the bodies of the dead. The truth is far is from it- the first Italian autopsies performed in the 1280’s (Park 1994 p3) and by 15th Century was a fairly widespread practise (Park 1994 p12).

“Learning about criminal justice from the media is analogous

to learning geology from volcanic eruptions” (Surette 1998 p80)

Just as observing the loud and chaotic explosion of lava from a volcano does little to explain plate tectonics theory, attempting to understand crime and the criminal justice system from the media provides only a sensationalised and partial image of the phenomena, lacking the depth and theory required to truly understand factors leading to crime. What Surette is attempting to get across is that much of what is presented to us by the media regarding the criminal justice system is a simplified and sensationalised version of the truth.

A quick thought on friendship networks and the closeness of community relationships.