New paper in Current Biology says that the famous snail darter, which was the subject of crucial lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act that delayed the Tellico Dam, is not a distinct species at all. Genetic testing shows that it is just an eastern population of the stargazing darter, a fairly common fish. (Paper, NY Times, Reason) The Endangered Species Act is a big temptation to environmentally-minded scientists, because declaring a population a distinct species (e.g., the red wolf) provides so many protective weapons and nobody agrees on what defines a species anyway.
Great Emily Oster piece on the problem of alcohol and health.
Ancient amulet against cancer.
At the international workshop for wildlife fertility control. Interesting but I radically disagree that "indigenous" interventions in nature should be put in a different category than ours.
Libertarian Richard Hanania on American politics: "We’re lucky as a country that one side has xenophobia/racism and the other economic statism. If there was a party that combined both they would win, as things stand they check one another."
Study finds that getting surgeons to warm up for five to ten minutes before they enter the OR improves outcomes. (NY Times, original paper)
Trump's immigration team is trying to find an epidemic disease they can use to close US borders.
CNN reports that the golden lion tamarin, once down to only about 200 in the wild, has recovered nicely thanks to conservation efforts.
New study argues that exposure to lead under the Roman empire was so high as to have significant impacts on health and intelligence. (Original paper, NY Times, ) But the impacts they are talking about are less than modern people endured from 1750 to recent times, so I am not convinced that any of this means much on a civilizational scale.
Former CEO who just sold his company now has no idea what to do with his life. Like Notch after selling Minecraft. It's the hoariest of cliches but life really is about the journey, not the destination. Forget finish lines.
Kevin Drum has a ton of data showing that we still build things in the US. Also, that the regulatory state has made us much safer.
Somewhat interesting study on the brains of people who have or have not recovered from PTSD.
Interesting tomb of a royal physician found in Egypt.
Thoughts on which traits will be more or less valuable in the world of AI.
Crowns and other treasure from Lithuanian royal burials within the Vilnius cathedral.
Russian blogger says their armored assaults never go anywhere and serve only to increase Ukrainian morale; all advance is made by infrantry.
4 comments:
"Former CEO who just sold his company now has no idea what to do with his life. Like Notch after selling Minecraft. It's the hoariest of cliches but life really is about the journey, not the destination. Forget finish lines."
Perhaps the result has to do with the characteristic psychological nature of CEOs? Or perhaps more precisely, the sort of psychological makeup that contributes to a person becoming a CEO. In any case, hardly a random trial. I love being retired. To quote Scott again: "Nothing makes sense except in light of inter-individual variation."
Perhaps one could say that the journey they wanted to be on involved institution creation, advancement over peers, leadership of followers (or underlings?), huge responsibility for group and institutional success or failure, and mark-making of a gigantic, highly unusual sort. I would say that this is in fact a highly unusual makeup among humans. Some of us are suited to a journey that involves sitting on the porch.
Lovely news about the Golden Tamarins. The Como Zoo in Saint Paul was involved in this project for at least a decade. I remember, the pleasure, bringing my own kids through to see, with quite some regularity, the new baby tamarins on display.
Went back last winter and there were no Golden Tamarins on display—well now I guess I know why! 💗
Former CEO who just sold his company now has no idea what to do with his life. Like Notch after selling Minecraft. It's the hoariest of cliches but life really is about the journey, not the destination. Forget finish lines.
"My life is over."
"...you could use your money to better yourself..."
"There's nothing more for me to do."
"...you could help feed the hungry, house the homeless..."
"All of my skills at running a company have no use now.
"...you could put them to use organizing charities, public works, etc...
"IS THIS ALL THERE IS IN LIFE?"
"...there are countless worthy challenges you could accept..."
"Life is so cruel! I'm so unhappy!"
"..."
"I must blame someone for my misery. Wait, I know! Minorities! I'll join a far-right political party!"
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