From John Sheraton
The reference to Robin Oliver’s “outstanding contributions to the geology of Sri Lanka”
(Feedback, 17 March)
seems perfectly correct to me. Geology is the
scientific study of the history, composition and structure of the Earth, and so
his contributions were actually to the study of Sri Lankan rocks.
Nevertheless, Robin was indeed an awesome character, and one I am privileged
to have known. He was equally renowned for his contributions to Antarctic
geology, in which he was still actively engaged until just before his death at
the age of 79. He was still doing fieldwork there under arduous conditions into
his sixties, at least.
Oliver also had a reputation as a somewhat absent-minded academic. Going home
from the university one day, he went to where he thought he had left his car,
only to find it missing. This was duly reported to the police, and he made his
way home by other means. The following night he went to where he had actually
left his car the previous day, and was stopped on his way home by the police for
driving a stolen car.
On another occasion he interrupted a lecture he was giving to go and collect
something from his office. However, he sat down at his microscope and started
working instead, and totally forgot about his waiting students.
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