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Cross-posting from my Facebook wall, for posterity. This morning, I wrote the following: I don’t want to comment on current affairs and specific events because I don’t know enough and my analytical nature isn’t welcome when emotions are raw. I’ll just say this: I stand in solidarity with the fight for justice and with anyone… Read More »
How do we choose between economic losses and the likelihood of people dying in a pandemic? Is that even a moral question to contemplate? Like it or not, it’s something we have to think about now. The classic approach is to come up with a Value of Statistical Life figure, basically the amount that society… Read More »
Turns out that bumblebees can do a lot for us in addressing the pollination crisis, where threats to honeybee populations are making it harder and harder to pollinate certain crops. Like fruit? Well, many fruit trees won’t bear fruit unless their flowers are pollinated. You’re going to need bees! When I was a kid, I… Read More »
Wondering how long the SARS-CoV-2 virus persists in the environment? The media’s been pretty vague, but this recent article from the New England Journal of Medicine is much more helpful. It shows that the virus is detectable up to 48 hours after exposure on many surfaces, particularly plastic and steel. It’s less stable on cardboard,… Read More »
I’m still seeing a lot of confusion around mortality rate figures for Covid-19. There are three figures worth understanding. The first is the case fatality rate (CFR). It measures the proportion of cases of a disease that result in fatality. To calculate it, take the number of fatalities and divide it by the sum of… Read More »
I don’t usually do New Years resolutions. I’ve dabbled with them in the past, but they’ve always been vague ideals that I didn’t write down, didn’t track, and had no help of understanding my progress towards, let alone achieving. This year, I’m going to try applying SMART criteria to the process. For the uninitiated, this… Read More »
I’ve been thinking about group discussions, particular those where a group of four or more people are exploring and learning about a complex issue together. I’m doing this both because I want to reboot the Futures Salon I’ve been running with Arunabh and because I’m currently gearing up to run an unconference for the Seattle… Read More »
I was already in a grim frame of mind this evening when I heard about the shootings in Christchurch. I’m not ready to talk about them, but I wanted to write about the other thing. Someone I know committed suicide just recently. I didn’t know them particularly well, but they are the third person in… Read More »
Last week, I went to the MIT Media Lab. It’s grown substantially since I was last there, with a new building that’s shiny, open, and white. There are Windows everywhere, most onto lab spaces filled with weird devices and exhibits. Until you actually go into a lab, it feels more like an art museum than… Read More »
What does class mean? In the last week I’ve encountered three conceptualizations – financial, cultural, and aspirational. Under the financial concept, class is determined by whether one’s assets and income are below or above some threshold. Here, class is external to the individual and might vary relatively easily as an individual gains more wealth. This… Read More »