May 28, 2020
It is interesting how many comments Chernobyl has generated. We're not quite at the responses to earworms or my bird feeder, but it is interesting how an off-hand comment from the infographic seems to have turned into an apt metaphor. So many points of consideration -- opening with extreme caution, a non-observable risk that we can only measure indirectly, a range of responses that span extreme caution to the cavalier. From HBO and now this email, the nuclear accident from the summer when I was 11 (oddly, I specifically remember talking about it in the pool with my friends at day camp) has occupied more headspace than I would have ever predicted. (Embarrassingly, I watched a video on how nuclear reactors work!) It does make me consider how events become both cultural and individual historical memories, metaphors, and lessons for the future. I wonder how history will view the various actors from this pandemic? I wonder what metaphors and to what future events analogies will be made?
-----------
State comparisons:
https://public.tableau.com/views/Coronavirus-ChangeovertimeintheUSA/2_Corona?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
Rt data
https://public.tableau.com/shared/7FH637YGW?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
FT data is still the best visualization I have found for country comparisons.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&cumulative=0&logScale=1&perMillion=0&values=deaths
The tableau data is from The COVID Tracking Project, which compiles and rates state-reported data. Please review https://covidtracking.com/ to understand the quality of the data.
I am still concerned about data integrity, and I am most curious about what data from early next week will demonstrate(5-10 days after memorial day). Nevertheless, deaths appear to be consistently down with a steady case rate, nationally at least. Your state may vary.
-------------------
I came across an interesting early-release (read: less intensive review prior to publication) case report published by the CDC. The article is written by a team in China investigating an outbreak that MAY be related to airborne spread via an HVAC unit. I am skeptical but curious. It will be interesting to see if other cases like this start to be reported for small, enclosed spaces.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article
Likewise, I offer this early release article from Science on the known unknowns and known unknowns of preventing viral spread.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/05/27/science.abc6197?utm_campaign=SciMag&utm_source=JHubbard
Here is an article from Wisconsin on the emerging new cases 10-14 days following reopening.
https://madison365.com/two-weeks-after-court-scraps-safer-at-home-wisconsin-sets-record-for-new-coronavirus-cases-and-deaths/
Alabama is reporting a similar increase in cases
https://www.alreporter.com/2020/05/26/were-surging-alabama-reports-largest-covid-19-increases-to-date/
More updates on coronavirus-sniffing dogs. I don't know Finnish dog commands, but I continue to follow this line of investigation with much interest. Some of the suggested applications for dogs seems far-fetched, but still. Immediate screening of people with high sensitivity and specificity would be very valuable.
https://www.ecowatch.com/dogs-smell-covid-19-2646105814.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3
Here is an interesting article on T-cells in non-exposed SARS-CoV-2 individuals that seem to be partially reactive to SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins, opening the thought that there may be some cross-immune activity conferred from other coronaviruses.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30610-3
The implications of this data are comforting, but we are a ways away from being confident this is meaningful or that we should base policy on it.
Infographic(s) of the day - shoelaces!?! Perhaps I should knot be surprised that there are 62 different ways to lace shoes and 20 different ways to tie them. This site rivals my Ashley's Book of Knots for "weirdly useful things I did know I wanted to know even if I can't really use them." I wonder how many millions of dollars it took to discover the NASA boot lacing. I am totally shifting to this lacing method, given I want the maximal return on my tax dollars. I'm not sure which political party would embrace federally funded lacing research.
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/nasa-space-boot-lacing.htm
And, while you are at it, learn about Ian, the website author. He is now a full-time shoelace author with a YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfessorShoelace
(Oh, the career paths I did not take!)
-----Bonus Round - The people that shape historical memories
Publius Cornelius Tacitus is one of the prominent Roman historians. He is often cited as a source for Roman history since a relatively large collection of his writing has survived. Though he used official Roman transcripts from the Senate and first-hand discussions with contemporaries, it is interesting to read some analysis of his biases. Indeed, his efforts at reporting events were not up to 21st century standards of historiography. It is important to remember how few sources from ancient times there were and how much the few that exist color our historical perspective.
About Tacitus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus
An interesting paper written by a history tutor sums up a lot of thoughts on Tacitus's biases:
https://www.tutorhunt.com/resource/8676/
Here is a more broad discussion of Roman Historiography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_historiography#Characteristics
As I was writing this bonus round, I recalled this more recent NY Times article comparing textbooks from Texas and California. It is a fascinating look at our country, the education system, and the politics of history education.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
-Adam
Thursday
It is interesting how many comments Chernobyl has generated. We're not quite at the responses to earworms or my bird feeder, but it is interesting how an off-hand comment from the infographic seems to have turned into an apt metaphor. So many points of consideration -- opening with extreme caution, a non-observable risk that we can only measure indirectly, a range of responses that span extreme caution to the cavalier. From HBO and now this email, the nuclear accident from the summer when I was 11 (oddly, I specifically remember talking about it in the pool with my friends at day camp) has occupied more headspace than I would have ever predicted. (Embarrassingly, I watched a video on how nuclear reactors work!) It does make me consider how events become both cultural and individual historical memories, metaphors, and lessons for the future. I wonder how history will view the various actors from this pandemic? I wonder what metaphors and to what future events analogies will be made?
-----------
State comparisons:
https://public.tableau.com/views/Coronavirus-ChangeovertimeintheUSA/2_Corona?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
Rt data
https://public.tableau.com/shared/7FH637YGW?:display_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link
FT data is still the best visualization I have found for country comparisons.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&cumulative=0&logScale=1&perMillion=0&values=deaths
The tableau data is from The COVID Tracking Project, which compiles and rates state-reported data. Please review https://covidtracking.com/ to understand the quality of the data.
I am still concerned about data integrity, and I am most curious about what data from early next week will demonstrate(5-10 days after memorial day). Nevertheless, deaths appear to be consistently down with a steady case rate, nationally at least. Your state may vary.
-------------------
I came across an interesting early-release (read: less intensive review prior to publication) case report published by the CDC. The article is written by a team in China investigating an outbreak that MAY be related to airborne spread via an HVAC unit. I am skeptical but curious. It will be interesting to see if other cases like this start to be reported for small, enclosed spaces.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article
Likewise, I offer this early release article from Science on the known unknowns and known unknowns of preventing viral spread.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/05/27/science.abc6197?utm_campaign=SciMag&utm_source=JHubbard
Here is an article from Wisconsin on the emerging new cases 10-14 days following reopening.
https://madison365.com/two-weeks-after-court-scraps-safer-at-home-wisconsin-sets-record-for-new-coronavirus-cases-and-deaths/
Alabama is reporting a similar increase in cases
https://www.alreporter.com/2020/05/26/were-surging-alabama-reports-largest-covid-19-increases-to-date/
More updates on coronavirus-sniffing dogs. I don't know Finnish dog commands, but I continue to follow this line of investigation with much interest. Some of the suggested applications for dogs seems far-fetched, but still. Immediate screening of people with high sensitivity and specificity would be very valuable.
https://www.ecowatch.com/dogs-smell-covid-19-2646105814.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3
Here is an interesting article on T-cells in non-exposed SARS-CoV-2 individuals that seem to be partially reactive to SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins, opening the thought that there may be some cross-immune activity conferred from other coronaviruses.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30610-3
The implications of this data are comforting, but we are a ways away from being confident this is meaningful or that we should base policy on it.
Infographic(s) of the day - shoelaces!?! Perhaps I should knot be surprised that there are 62 different ways to lace shoes and 20 different ways to tie them. This site rivals my Ashley's Book of Knots for "weirdly useful things I did know I wanted to know even if I can't really use them." I wonder how many millions of dollars it took to discover the NASA boot lacing. I am totally shifting to this lacing method, given I want the maximal return on my tax dollars. I'm not sure which political party would embrace federally funded lacing research.
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/nasa-space-boot-lacing.htm
And, while you are at it, learn about Ian, the website author. He is now a full-time shoelace author with a YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfessorShoelace
(Oh, the career paths I did not take!)
-----Bonus Round - The people that shape historical memories
Publius Cornelius Tacitus is one of the prominent Roman historians. He is often cited as a source for Roman history since a relatively large collection of his writing has survived. Though he used official Roman transcripts from the Senate and first-hand discussions with contemporaries, it is interesting to read some analysis of his biases. Indeed, his efforts at reporting events were not up to 21st century standards of historiography. It is important to remember how few sources from ancient times there were and how much the few that exist color our historical perspective.
About Tacitus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus
An interesting paper written by a history tutor sums up a lot of thoughts on Tacitus's biases:
https://www.tutorhunt.com/resource/8676/
Here is a more broad discussion of Roman Historiography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_historiography#Characteristics
As I was writing this bonus round, I recalled this more recent NY Times article comparing textbooks from Texas and California. It is a fascinating look at our country, the education system, and the politics of history education.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
-Adam
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