In his first lecture, Professor Eric Laithwaite explores the concept of 'reflection', from concepts of the smallest particle to those of the whole universe.

Through the title of this third lecture and the theme of chess running through Alice's adventures, Professor Eric Laithwaite introduces the concept of 'odds and evens'.

In this lecture, Laithwaite used the behavioural gyroscopes in an attempt to challenge the validity of Newton’s Laws of motion and the laws of thermodynamics.

In his fifth lecture, Laithwaite uses the concept of analogies (fairy stories) as a way to explain complex topics in science.

In the final talk of his 1974 CHRISTMAS LECTURE series, Professor Eric Laithwaite explores the concept of scientific invention.