The Science Museum's beautifully organised "Pain" exhibition opens up discussion of one of our great unrecognised taboos. Most of us can hardly bear to talk about pain in private, let alone acknowledge it in public. Instead, we prefer the voyeuristic - indeed, pornographic - approach to pain and violence typified by contemporary Tarantino-style films.

The torture instruments displayed here encourage us to think about the religious connection between pain and [...]

Off to the German Alps for a little bit of hiking. My publisher recommends Schloss Elmau, a sort of intellectual precursor to Club Med, as a base. Daily seminars bring in international scholars and writers, and the evenings bring the musicians. Despite our inadequate German, we have many lively conversations about physics, racism and art with the other guests, many of whom have been coming since they were children - [...]