Thursday, October 15, 2020
Two "thanks to the pandemic" video conferences kept me up past my bedtime last night: virtual back to school for my kids and the Spinal Tap reunion. Comparing these events is not fair. While I love my kids' school, and it is great to see how enthusiastic the teachers are (they are), they did not make me laugh out loud. Virtual back-to-school night inhibited my ability to play the "match the parents to the kids based on behavior" game. I can't be alone in listening to the parent who grills the math teacher and thinks, "Yeah, I can see why their kid behaves like that," right? Apparently, even the crazy parents are self-conscious about being crazy via Zoom. Either way, I am tired - back to School night plus Spinal Tap kept me up till 11.
-----Latest Data---
Case rates trending up in many states and parts of the world
Death rates still stable - remember it is often a 2+ week lagging indicator. The U.S. is back at greater than 50,000 new cases per day (7-day rolling average) and is stable at 675-700 deaths per day (7-day rolling average).
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
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.
----
I am violating my self-imposed 4-article limit today. You can save these and read these links over the weekend if you feel overwhelmed.
The COVID Tracking project offered a bit more granular data on the rates of change in cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and testing. No bueno.
https://twitter.com/COVID19Tracking/status/1316521412278902785
Likewise, Liz Essley-White, a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, offered a roundup of data from the White House Coronavirus Taskforce. Per her comments, this data is not actively shared
https://twitter.com/l_e_whyte/status/1316085531084820481
more
https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/states-in-red-zone-for-coronavirus-cases-grow-to-26/
Dr. Bob Wachter from UCSF had a great roundup of COVID data - his COVID chronicles, Day 211. It touches on a week's worth of data I include in these emails.
https://twitter.com/bob_wachter/status/1316564549546381312?s=10
The N.Y. Times offered an article that speculates on the immunologic trade-offs (and unknowns) of receiving coronavirus monoclonal antibodies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/health/coronavirus-trump.html
I know my colleagues in C.O. suffered from COVID-related liquor store closures and then curfews earlier this year. While these self-reported survey data are not Colorado-specific, this JAMA article points to increased alcohol and alcohol-related consequences during the pandemic.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770975
Here is your coffee read of the day. A few months ago, on a Saturday, I did a critical analysis of an article from John Ioannidis, a provocative academic from Stanford. An epidemiologist from the U.K. (@GidMK) took the time to break down the same article with a Twitter-based peer review. This thread is an outstanding example of how to think through academic research's logical fallacies and what should happen with solid peer review.
https://twitter.com/GidMK/status/1316511734115385344
Sort of Infographic of the day:
Fun and fear with technical terminology:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaParlett/status/1316528345224343552
Equally as concerning - Watch out for the dihydrogen monoxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody
Real infographic of the day: Snowflakes are not unique individuals.
Dear friends who climb tall mountains and have peripatetic wilderness lifestyles (you know who you are). Did you know there is a classification system for snowflakes? I did not. Now I do.
https://i1.wp.com/www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/The-Shapes-of-Snowflakes.png?ssl=1
You need to read the article.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/10/snowflakes/
---Bonus Round: Happy 2,118th Birthday!
Today, October 15, is recognized as the birthday of both Lucretius (99 BCE - 2118 years ago) and Virgil (170 BCE - 2189 years ago). Frankly, I am skeptical these dates are accurate. But, I don't want to miss the opportunity to talk about ideas through time. I will focus on Lucretius, known for his one surviving Epicurean poem, "De Rerum Natura, (On the Nature of Things)." This poem is often not taught (to those of us in STEM) but often cited by other writers. It links together so many ideas from the Epicurean school of thought, which predominated the ancient world.
The poem reviews early atomic theory by the Greek philosopher Democritus (yes, atom-based theory of matter was hypothesized by 300 BC). It touches on concepts of consciousness and the soul. It explores the concepts of divinity in a polytheistic belief system. Moreover, it is an endorsement of living a fulfilled (Epicurean) life by keeping it simple - don't worry about death, avoid pain and fear, and be a good friend. In short, it checks a ton of boxes for those curious to get inside the minds of early Western philosophy. Here is a somewhat long but very well done review by the University of Cincinnati Library from 2018:
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/2018/10/happy-birthday-lucretius/
If you prefer more, there is a highly enjoyable non-fiction tale of Lucretius's re-discovery in the 1400s. The book, The Swerve, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 2012. While I think the author over-dramatized Lucretius's impact on renaissance history, the story is very much like The DaVinci Code, only real.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swerve
https://www.amazon.com/Swerve-How-World-Became-Modern/dp/0393343405
By the way - it is tricky counting exactly from purported dates in antiquity - traversing the Julian -> Gregorian calendar shift. But the great Google points toward all knowledge:
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1247118517
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Back on Monday. Tomorrow is clinic day.
Two "thanks to the pandemic" video conferences kept me up past my bedtime last night: virtual back to school for my kids and the Spinal Tap reunion. Comparing these events is not fair. While I love my kids' school, and it is great to see how enthusiastic the teachers are (they are), they did not make me laugh out loud. Virtual back-to-school night inhibited my ability to play the "match the parents to the kids based on behavior" game. I can't be alone in listening to the parent who grills the math teacher and thinks, "Yeah, I can see why their kid behaves like that," right? Apparently, even the crazy parents are self-conscious about being crazy via Zoom. Either way, I am tired - back to School night plus Spinal Tap kept me up till 11.
-----Latest Data---
Case rates trending up in many states and parts of the world
Death rates still stable - remember it is often a 2+ week lagging indicator. The U.S. is back at greater than 50,000 new cases per day (7-day rolling average) and is stable at 675-700 deaths per day (7-day rolling average).
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
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.
----
I am violating my self-imposed 4-article limit today. You can save these and read these links over the weekend if you feel overwhelmed.
The COVID Tracking project offered a bit more granular data on the rates of change in cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and testing. No bueno.
https://twitter.com/COVID19Tracking/status/1316521412278902785
Likewise, Liz Essley-White, a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, offered a roundup of data from the White House Coronavirus Taskforce. Per her comments, this data is not actively shared
https://twitter.com/l_e_whyte/status/1316085531084820481
more
https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/states-in-red-zone-for-coronavirus-cases-grow-to-26/
Dr. Bob Wachter from UCSF had a great roundup of COVID data - his COVID chronicles, Day 211. It touches on a week's worth of data I include in these emails.
https://twitter.com/bob_wachter/status/1316564549546381312?s=10
The N.Y. Times offered an article that speculates on the immunologic trade-offs (and unknowns) of receiving coronavirus monoclonal antibodies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/health/coronavirus-trump.html
I know my colleagues in C.O. suffered from COVID-related liquor store closures and then curfews earlier this year. While these self-reported survey data are not Colorado-specific, this JAMA article points to increased alcohol and alcohol-related consequences during the pandemic.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770975
Here is your coffee read of the day. A few months ago, on a Saturday, I did a critical analysis of an article from John Ioannidis, a provocative academic from Stanford. An epidemiologist from the U.K. (@GidMK) took the time to break down the same article with a Twitter-based peer review. This thread is an outstanding example of how to think through academic research's logical fallacies and what should happen with solid peer review.
https://twitter.com/GidMK/status/1316511734115385344
Sort of Infographic of the day:
Fun and fear with technical terminology:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaParlett/status/1316528345224343552
Equally as concerning - Watch out for the dihydrogen monoxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody
Real infographic of the day: Snowflakes are not unique individuals.
Dear friends who climb tall mountains and have peripatetic wilderness lifestyles (you know who you are). Did you know there is a classification system for snowflakes? I did not. Now I do.
https://i1.wp.com/www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/The-Shapes-of-Snowflakes.png?ssl=1
You need to read the article.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/10/snowflakes/
---Bonus Round: Happy 2,118th Birthday!
Today, October 15, is recognized as the birthday of both Lucretius (99 BCE - 2118 years ago) and Virgil (170 BCE - 2189 years ago). Frankly, I am skeptical these dates are accurate. But, I don't want to miss the opportunity to talk about ideas through time. I will focus on Lucretius, known for his one surviving Epicurean poem, "De Rerum Natura, (On the Nature of Things)." This poem is often not taught (to those of us in STEM) but often cited by other writers. It links together so many ideas from the Epicurean school of thought, which predominated the ancient world.
The poem reviews early atomic theory by the Greek philosopher Democritus (yes, atom-based theory of matter was hypothesized by 300 BC). It touches on concepts of consciousness and the soul. It explores the concepts of divinity in a polytheistic belief system. Moreover, it is an endorsement of living a fulfilled (Epicurean) life by keeping it simple - don't worry about death, avoid pain and fear, and be a good friend. In short, it checks a ton of boxes for those curious to get inside the minds of early Western philosophy. Here is a somewhat long but very well done review by the University of Cincinnati Library from 2018:
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/2018/10/happy-birthday-lucretius/
If you prefer more, there is a highly enjoyable non-fiction tale of Lucretius's re-discovery in the 1400s. The book, The Swerve, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 2012. While I think the author over-dramatized Lucretius's impact on renaissance history, the story is very much like The DaVinci Code, only real.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swerve
https://www.amazon.com/Swerve-How-World-Became-Modern/dp/0393343405
By the way - it is tricky counting exactly from purported dates in antiquity - traversing the Julian -> Gregorian calendar shift. But the great Google points toward all knowledge:
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1247118517
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Back on Monday. Tomorrow is clinic day.
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