Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Alicedale mother weeps in pain for raped and murdered three-year-old  
  • Homeless, Hopeless and Forgotten
  • Don’t normalise the abnormal, justice must be served
  • “A healthy body, a healthy mind” is Rhodes University Sports’ motto as they prepare for USSA 2023 tournament
  • St. Mary’s Development and Care Centre 40th anniversary gala dinner
  • iSt Marks iphumelele kumdlalo neLeicester City
  • Five weeks of misery without water
  • Akhona Mafani’s road to success
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»Uncategorized»The power of possibility – the language of success
Uncategorized

The power of possibility – the language of success

Kayla RouxBy Kayla RouxMarch 16, 2014No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

The official opening night of the 18th annual 2014 Science Festival was explosive in more ways than one. The Kingswood Jazz Band provided the entertainment, followed by talented magician Olwethu Dyanti.

The official opening night of the 18th annual 2014 Science Festival was explosive in more ways than one. The Kingswood Jazz Band provided the entertainment, followed by talented magician Olwethu Dyanti.

It was then the turn of Australian Graeme Walker, who thrilled the audience by blowing up an assortment of things.

Mandla Maseko, winner of the Axe Space Academy competition, spoke next. He is on schedule to be the first black African to go into space next year. The main attraction of the night, however, was Captain Barrington Irving Jr.

Irving gave the prestigious Brian Wilmot Lecture, titled ‘The Power of Possibility’.

In 2007, at the age of 23, Irving Jr was formerly the youngest person to fly around the world alone.

He was also the first black person to do so.

The story of his journey to how he got to fly around the world sounds like a fairy tale.

Irving Jr, was well on his way to becoming a major football star when he met Captain Gary Robinson. He inspired him to take up flying.

However, the road to him flying around the world was not as smooth as he thought it would be.

Not only did the Captain face 18 months of rejection from companies who would not sponsor him; he also did not have a plane nor did he know how to fly one.

That didn’t stop him. As Irving said, “I was poor and I had nothing to lose. But as soon as I stepped up, the donations started coming up.” He taught himself how to fly a plane using books and the internet and managed to assemble a plane from donated parts.

The rest is history, as in 2007 he successfully flew around the world in 97 days.

The lecture also focused on the importance of Maths and Science and how it can be used practically to solve problems in the real world.

One such example would be how Irving and his team plan on going to Darwin, Australia, to solve the problem of the King Toads there.

They plan to catch them, freeze them and then convert them into fertiliser.  

As Irving said, “The world has two common languages: Maths and Science and it’s up to us to use to use the technology we have to improve the world.”

Previous ArticleAgang can’t campaign at Rhodes
Next Article Crossing the border from Israel to Palestine
Kayla Roux

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2023 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.