158: David Mannion

My guest this week is David Mannion, weightlifter and astronomer, who often gives cruise ship lectures on astronomy. He was a teacher for over 30 years, and Head of Physics at a grammar school in Kent. We find out how David got into astronomy, and he reflects on whether we will ever go to Mars and we learn about his specific driver for space interest, as well as about how we calculate the age of the universe, of which we know only five per cent. David discusses his thoughts around teaching, and why teachers should be paid more, and we find out about the educational journey that follows, and why he doesn’t think that university is necessarily right for everyone. We discuss too the 11-plus and the concept of being 'in the middle of the road', as well as why Brian Cox is quite an atypical astronomer. We talk about how we measure happiness, and whether people who do well at interviews are necessarily good at the job they subsequently go on to do. We discuss how money doesn’t always reflect someone’s worth, as in the case of some footballers vs. those in the caring profession. David gives his thoughts on whether we can judge people for what they said in a different era to now, and we reflect on how if we were to take a different part of someone’s life to the one we are familiar with then history would judge them very differently. Then, at the end of the interview, David reveals why he remembers the good times, and why nostalgia is great so long as one doesn’t have regrets.