Thursday, September 3, 2020
The last two weeks have demonstrated an increasing volume of articles and comments attempting to sort truth from non-truth. These sorting efforts are a painful exercise. Un-truth is often subtle and protean - and doesn't have to be believed or be believable to be impactful. When the intent is to delay, distract, and avoid, the un-truth is a logical sleight of hand employed to avoid some other reality. Wading through information in this environment is the intellectual equivalent of catching catfish by hand. You stick your arm in the mud and hope you come up with something worth the effort (and still have your hand).
References of note:
Gaslighting:
https://theconversation.com/gaslighting-from-partners-to-politicians-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim-121828
How to catch catfish by hand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHdg_reiFU
Using data to drive thought and fight fear
https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1301167919976583168?s=10
----------------
Latest Data
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
There is a continued slow decline in new cases in the U.S. https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally:
The NY Times state-level data visualization:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----------
The COVID tracking project blog offered a detailed write up of the impact in long-term care facilities - essentially nursing homes. They do an excellent job weaving the issues of illness and policy as part of the story.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/long-term-care
A UNC virologist, Efra Rivera-Serrano, offers this outstanding Tweetorial on the importance and impact of viruses on heart muscle cells.
https://twitter.com/NakedCapsid/status/1301207386515025921
A loyal reader sent me this article on the biochemical pathophysiology of the coronavirus. Of note, it uses all sorts of triggering words for us kidney doctors - ACE2 receptor, renin-angiotensin system - all the phrases that get nephrologists hot and bothered! Seriously, it is unclear if this hypothesis will be proven, but it is an excellent and readable example of how understanding and therapy evolve.
https://elemental.medium.com/a-supercomputer-analyzed-covid-19-and-an-interesting-new-theory-has-emerged-31cb8eba9d63
Vaccine time.
1) CDC sent a message to the governors in the U.S. asking for help in deploying a vaccine by November 1.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article245406245.html
2) Nobody with any scientific credibility is confident we will have enough data on these vaccines before November 1.
https://twitter.com/notdred/status/1301232084640559105
or
https://twitter.com/florian_krammer/status/1301285023635640321?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1301319618464813057?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/peterhotez/status/1301275248248139778?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1301362269939408897
Enough. This debate is nauseating and a distraction from the real work.
Infographic of the day: British Cattle.
If you encounter a British cow, you will be well versed in the range of possible breeds. https://i.redd.it/clobv8zk6rk51.jpg
Learn about the history of domesticated cattle, which have been a partner in human society's evolution. (Maybe they are really the ones in control?) https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/6/4/705/htm
---Bonus Round -- Things about which I didn't realize you could have a strong opinion
When we run out of other things, here are some suggested topics to discuss. Save these up for the holidays to have a meaningful discussion at Thanksgiving while avoiding angering your crazy cousin!
Daylight Savings Time (con): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experts-make-case-against-daylight-saving-time-180975706/
Leap Years :
(pro) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/02/160226-leap-year-science-time-world-cultures-february/
(con) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/leap-year-february-calendar-days-year-professors-john-hopkins-university-a9355746.html
Spain's Siesta:
(con) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/spain-working-hours-ending-siesta
Asparagus Farming:
(mixed) https://www.eacourier.com/opinion/so-you-want-to-be-an-asparagus-farmer/article_6cebf986-5b04-11e9-aafe-9b66f01993dd.html
Keeping porcupines as pets:
(pro, but measured) https://ilovepets.co/porcupines-as-pets/
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Have a safe weekend. I'll be back on Monday.
The last two weeks have demonstrated an increasing volume of articles and comments attempting to sort truth from non-truth. These sorting efforts are a painful exercise. Un-truth is often subtle and protean - and doesn't have to be believed or be believable to be impactful. When the intent is to delay, distract, and avoid, the un-truth is a logical sleight of hand employed to avoid some other reality. Wading through information in this environment is the intellectual equivalent of catching catfish by hand. You stick your arm in the mud and hope you come up with something worth the effort (and still have your hand).
References of note:
Gaslighting:
https://theconversation.com/gaslighting-from-partners-to-politicians-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim-121828
How to catch catfish by hand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHdg_reiFU
Using data to drive thought and fight fear
https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1301167919976583168?s=10
----------------
Latest Data
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
There is a continued slow decline in new cases in the U.S. https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The U.S. Regionally:
The NY Times state-level data visualization:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----------
The COVID tracking project blog offered a detailed write up of the impact in long-term care facilities - essentially nursing homes. They do an excellent job weaving the issues of illness and policy as part of the story.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/long-term-care
A UNC virologist, Efra Rivera-Serrano, offers this outstanding Tweetorial on the importance and impact of viruses on heart muscle cells.
https://twitter.com/NakedCapsid/status/1301207386515025921
A loyal reader sent me this article on the biochemical pathophysiology of the coronavirus. Of note, it uses all sorts of triggering words for us kidney doctors - ACE2 receptor, renin-angiotensin system - all the phrases that get nephrologists hot and bothered! Seriously, it is unclear if this hypothesis will be proven, but it is an excellent and readable example of how understanding and therapy evolve.
https://elemental.medium.com/a-supercomputer-analyzed-covid-19-and-an-interesting-new-theory-has-emerged-31cb8eba9d63
Vaccine time.
1) CDC sent a message to the governors in the U.S. asking for help in deploying a vaccine by November 1.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article245406245.html
2) Nobody with any scientific credibility is confident we will have enough data on these vaccines before November 1.
https://twitter.com/notdred/status/1301232084640559105
or
https://twitter.com/florian_krammer/status/1301285023635640321?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1301319618464813057?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/peterhotez/status/1301275248248139778?s=10
or
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1301362269939408897
Enough. This debate is nauseating and a distraction from the real work.
Infographic of the day: British Cattle.
If you encounter a British cow, you will be well versed in the range of possible breeds. https://i.redd.it/clobv8zk6rk51.jpg
Learn about the history of domesticated cattle, which have been a partner in human society's evolution. (Maybe they are really the ones in control?) https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/6/4/705/htm
---Bonus Round -- Things about which I didn't realize you could have a strong opinion
When we run out of other things, here are some suggested topics to discuss. Save these up for the holidays to have a meaningful discussion at Thanksgiving while avoiding angering your crazy cousin!
Daylight Savings Time (con): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experts-make-case-against-daylight-saving-time-180975706/
Leap Years :
(pro) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/02/160226-leap-year-science-time-world-cultures-february/
(con) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/leap-year-february-calendar-days-year-professors-john-hopkins-university-a9355746.html
Spain's Siesta:
(con) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/spain-working-hours-ending-siesta
Asparagus Farming:
(mixed) https://www.eacourier.com/opinion/so-you-want-to-be-an-asparagus-farmer/article_6cebf986-5b04-11e9-aafe-9b66f01993dd.html
Keeping porcupines as pets:
(pro, but measured) https://ilovepets.co/porcupines-as-pets/
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Have a safe weekend. I'll be back on Monday.
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