tingilinde

bizarre myths that many americans believe

Bart notes some myths that are killing us noted by Alan Grayson .. great stuff and thanks for pointing it out Bart!

 

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A month ago, I wrote a note called "The Myths That Are Killing Us" – the hard myths that no Republicans, and very few Democrats, ever challenge. Here was my list: 

1. The Government can't create jobs. (Tell that to FDR, who created four million jobs in three months.)
2. Tax cuts reduce the deficit. (Doesn't it bother them that a man named "Laffer" came up with this one?)
3. A fetus is a baby.
4. The poor have too much money.
5. Cutting the federal deficit will end the recession.
6. The rich are incentivized by tax cuts, while the poor are incentivized by lower wages, no benefits, an end to the minimum wage, and unemployment.
7. An unwanted child is God's will.
8. Everyone who wants health insurance has it.
9. The problem with education is the teachers.
10. The "free market" satisfies every human need.
11. There is no discrimination in America anymore.
12. The distribution of wealth and income are irrelevant.

Well, this list seems to have provoked a lot of thought among us. Since I regard what we do as a collective endeavor, I want to share with you some of the best of this crowdsourcing by our audience – 20 more destructive myths: 

1. One gender is better than the other, one race is superior to all others, and there is only one true religion.
2. You can get any medical treatment that you need, for free, in any hospital emergency room.
3. Ronald Reagan won the Cold War.
4. The environment can protect itself.
5. It is better for America to be feared than loved.
6. Only the wealthy create jobs.
7. America is a Christian nation.
8. Human beings are not the cause of climate change.
9. Minority women have children in order to qualify for welfare.
10. President Obama wants to take away our guns.
11. The more we spend on the military, the safer we are.
12. Corporations use tax cuts to hire people.
13. The unemployed are lazy and stupid.
14. Rich people are smarter than everyone else.
15. We will never run out of oil.
16. Invading foreign countries wins hearts and minds.
17. Science is a matter of opinion.
18. Instigating unnecessary wars shows your support for the troops.
19. Corporations are people.
20. Money is speech.

 

new regina spektor

When a classically trained pianist moves into new areas - she's been doing great for a half decade now

the great manhattan pizza war

this is crazy (via the NY Times)

neal stephenson's hieroglyph project

Sukie pointed out a piece in Smithsonian Magazine about Neal Stephenson's call for a more inspirational science fiction

He published a manifesto of sorts here...

I agree that scifi can paint a scenario planning of sorts to allow people to imagine and flesh out potential futures - perhaps making some more likely.  This sort of writing is more difficult than the "magic" variety which is much more common.  Both can be a lot of fun though...  It will be interesting to see if he can inspire some progress.

trust in science among conservatives

Science often clashes with their world view, so trust in it has erroded - not terribly surprising.

What may seem surprising is the effect is strong among conservatives with higher levels of education.  But a person can be labeled as "educated" and still have very little clue in specific areas.  In the US science and math illiteracy is often ignored when labeling the education level of a person.  It is clearly something that needs to be probed more deeply.

 

a high-end human-electric hybrid bike from specialized

Too fast to be classified as an ebike in the US (28mph - usually they can't top 20mph) and spendy, Specialized seems to be going after the top of the European market with their new Turbo.  I'm sort of surprised for this money that it doesn't have a carbon belt ...  It is technically a human/electric hybrid - you pedal and select how much boost from the motor you want.  Of the various schemes for hybrids this is the most natural.

From their page

A less exotic version for half the price would probaby be a big seller in Europe and a 20mph lower spec model in the $3k range might sell in the US if progress could be made on other biking infrastructure issues.  There seems to be a niche  that make 15 to 25 km trips over mostly flat regions more practical in places like Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands and human-electric hybrids are beginning to sell.  With gas at $9+ a gallon, there is something of a motivation.

desirable though, and it is nice to see a nice design rather than the usual powertrain retrofit.

 

is research in motion circling the drain?

Interesting comments by Horace at Asymco.. the company didn't recognize the shift and hasn't been able to execute.  Some people see it as a turn around candidate, but I suspect it is too late.

the latest "chocolate is not going to hurt" paper..

I have to state up front that I love chocolate.  I have some in moderation almost every day.  Often the good stuff and usually very dark - but rarely more than an ounce a day.  I don't have categories of "good" and "bad" foods - at least not by themselves - but recognize that quantity is important.  A small amount of chocolate as a treat is important to me.  If I ate a half pound a day, I'd be asking for trouble.

Recently some work was published out of UCSD that had a catchy press release that was picked up and echoed everywhere.  Like a provocative image it captures the attention, but ...

Regular Chocolate Eaters are Thinner

Ahem ...  I read the paper and found it weak.  

It looked at about 1000 people from San Diego who had filled out a single food frequency questionnaire as part of enrollment in a study that was looking at the non-cardiac impact of statin drugs.  Included in the survey was the question "How many times a week do you consume chocolate?".  The authors then looked at BMI (calculated from self reported heights and weights) and controlled for fruit and vegetable intake, saturated fat intake, mood, and activity.  The questions for each of these were very simplistic.   

There are too many other possibilities - basically the study is very poorly controlled and self reported single forms are far from the gold standard.  I certainly wouldn't draw any conclusions from it.

Chocolate may or may not be calorie neutral - (experience suggests that people who eat a lot gain weight). There may be other health benefits and, like many foods, it is probably ok in moderation no matter what - but this paper is nothing to get excited about.

steampunk bike

a picture is worth much more than a thousand words

strangely interesting

childhood obesity

It is remarkable how people avoid dealing with the problems that cause childhood obesity.  Currently there are some saying dealing with it somehow stigmatizes the children even though there are numerous problems manifesting themselves in the short and long term.

A piece on comorbidities ...

I agree strongly with going after the condition than the person.  At the same time it is wrong to equate the two and I'm seeing a lot of that.