Week of December 26, 2023
I feel that time is moving faster than 1 minute per minute. I am not alone - numerous studies describe how human perception of time changes as we age. As such, I increasingly appreciate the numerous year-end look-backs each December. (My favorite is Spotify's Wrapped - a summary of one's listening for the year). And, for the first time in 3+ years of writing this newsletter, I've attempted something similar (see the Living with A.I. section below). However, none of this captures my gratitude for this email's readers. Thanks to all of you who read the newsletter, send me personal notes, reflect on the value of an article, or offer kind words of support. Happy New Year.
Here is a good summary of why our perception of time changes with age:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/
And some backstory on Spotify's Wrapped:
https://time.com/6340656/spotify-wrapped-guide-2023/
P.S. I'm taking next week off - look for an update on January 8, 2024.
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COVID-related hospitalizations are up 20% in the last two weeks. Wastewater concentrations are rising and are tracking greater than any previous winter peak (other than 2021's Delta variant surge). Based on available epidemiologic data, as of 12/24/23, coronavirus infected 1 out of every 29 Americans, which I suspect is an under-count given the lack of a robust testing and reporting system.
I highly recommend epidemiologist JP Weiland's discussion on the current spike in COVID cases.
https://x.com/JPWeiland/status/1738632358947934527
The N.Y. Times COVID Tracker reflects only CDC-gathered hospital data. Hospitalization data are a (lagging) indicator.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/us/covid-cases.html
Wastewater monitoring is more of a LEADING indicator.
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COVID articles
The genome of the latest variant, JN. 1, contains numerous mutations that make the severity and symptoms different. Here are some quick links to anecdotal data:
In Germany (where JN.1 is now predominant), there is an atypically large number of critically ill patients requiring ECMO (in essence, their lungs are not functioning).
https://twitter.com/kniggem/status/1738346317703692744
Public health officials are not consistently clear if the severity of illness is different. There does appear to be an evolution of symptoms, including more commonly reported gastrointestinal symptoms with JN.1.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-symptoms-jn1-variant-spreading-rcna130765
Your best defenses are strategically masking, good ventilation (air filtration and open windows), and ensuring you have the latest COVID booster (fall 2023).
Medical Trends and Technology
Scientific American offered an excellent roundup of 2023's top advances in medicine. If you read this newsletter, you saw most of these, though I missed the first partial face + eye transplant at NYU Medical Center.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-biggest-health-and-medicine-stories-of-2023/
and
I did not know the phrase Darwinian Gastronomy before finding this article. The authors explore the fascinating hypothesis that warmer climates have a more challenging time preserving food and, therefore, have incorporated more robust spices with antibiotic properties over thousands of years. As one commenter stated, "The concept of Darwinian gastronomy suggests that our preference for spices may have evolved as a defense mechanism against foodborne pathogens. Spices often possess antimicrobial properties, helping to reduce the risk of food poisoning in warmer climates where bacterial growth is more prevalent. This natural selection for spices in our culinary preferences aligns with the idea of evolutionary advantages in food choices." The authors highlight the antibiotic properties of various spices from cultures in both warmer and more temperate climates.
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/49/6/453/229475
and
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1738859970546839559?s=20
Infographics
I love the physics of Santa. To complete his deliveries, he must travel at 3.5 million miles per hour, delivering 173 million gifts at a rate of 1400 homes per second over 31 hours, the Earth's rotation, and an assumed typical children's bedtime of 10 pm with a wake-up time of 5 am, local to each time zone.
https://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/3720721/The_Science_of_Santa/
Things I learned this week
A robust set of backstory hypotheses and fan theories surrounds the 1990 film Home Alone. A recent N.Y. Times article included interviews with Federal Reserve economists speculating about the McCallister family's income - accounting for the size of their house, the international travel, and their well-appointed lifestyle.
I also learned the Home Alone theories get dark quickly. My favorite is the movie's Ghost/Sixth Sense framing - "Maybe Kevin is actually dead?" That is the only way to explain how a parent could "forget" their kid, right?
https://screenrant.com/home-alone-dark-fan-theories/
Good publicity and devoted followers are often more potent than the truth. I am late to this knowledge, but I recently learned Pythagoras did not develop the Pythagorean theorem; it appears the knowledge that a^2 + b^2 = c^2 predates him by at least 1000 years (4000-year-old Babylonian tablets are our earliest documentation, which means the idea was even older). This 2009 article from the Journal of Targeting, Measurement, and Analysis for Marketing (I would love to know who the typical subscriber is) is a shockingly interesting combination of biographical sketches, a historical overview of geometry, and the uses of geometric proofs in Einstein's theory of Relativity.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jt.2009.16
I also learned about why people in older photos always seem better dressed. Thanks to menswear writer Derek Guy's tweetorial, I now know that indoor heating, mass clothing production, and lightweight fabrics are the root causes driving a sartorially informal society.
https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1737563404544397638
Living with A.I. - 2023 Insights from this newsletter
Using ChatGPT, I analyzed the 51 newsletters I emailed in 2023. For context, ChatGPT 3.5 was made public in November 2022. In less than 14 months, the ability to quickly summarize, extract, and analyze large volumes of data, ask natural language questions, and conversationally iterate on the response is a reality. Here are data the LLM was able to extract from my 2023 writing:
-I mentioned CRISPR 12 times (it linked to each one).
-I used the word microbiome eight times (it linked to each one).
-I used the word COVID so often that ChatGPT refused to count (seriously).
-I referenced ChatGPT 20 times.
I wrote about 14 animals, often in the context of medical or biological peculiarities. It found:
- Camels
- Llamas
- Alpacas
- Sharks
- Dragonflies
- Siberian Unicorn (Elasmotherium sibiricum)
- Platypuses
- Flying squirrels
- Mammals (in general)
- Monkey (in the context of gene editing)
- Tasmanian Devils
- Tiger, Lion, Mammoth (in the context of lab-grown meat)
- Pig (in the context of xenotransplantation)
- Hookworms (in the context of antibiotic resistance)
Interestingly, ChatGPT's analysis fabricated (hallucinated?) some of the answers it gave me in the analysis (such as telling me I wrote about my pet's antics or that I described travel mishaps - both of which are untrue).
While ChatGPT's analysis is imperfect, I am amazed that I can upload a document and have a reasonably complex discussion with an A.I. engine.
Here is ChatGPT's summary of the email themes and tone (I am suspicious that ChatGPT is pandering to me in the first step toward A.I. domination):
Content Overview:
- The emails are a collection of newsletters authored by Adam Weinstein.
- Topics include medical trends, technology updates, personal anecdotes, and interesting facts or findings.
- There is a strong focus on medical and health-related topics, reflecting Adam's professional background and interests.
- The emails often discuss recent scientific advancements and their implications, particularly in genetics and healthcare.
- COVID-19 and its various aspects, such as public health responses and medical research, are frequently mentioned, indicating the period of these emails.
Style and Tone:
- Adam's writing style is informative yet engaging, making complex topics accessible to a general audience.
- He uses light-hearted language and humor to make the content more relatable and enjoyable.
- The tone is generally conversational, aiming to educate and inform the readers about various interesting subjects.
Personal Impression:
- From a neutral standpoint, the emails are well-composed, informative, and cover various intriguing topics.
- The blend of professional insight and personal touch makes the content compelling and insightful.
- Adam's approach to complex subjects is appreciable, as he simplifies them without losing their essence, making it easier for readers to understand and stay engaged.
You can read the whole, somewhat frustrating, analysis here:
https://chat.openai.com/share/e8b6d070-644f-4e07-a74f-ac03498116ca
A.I. art of the week
DALL-E helped me envision a steampunk-themed schematic of Santa's sleigh and reindeer (incorporating stealth fighter elements) that can achieve speeds of 3.5 million miles per hour. Fortunately, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) can still track such a sleigh.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19p6wk3KuFkrYgFHNHqDij83Z_iazOZMX/view?usp=sharing
and
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/noradhq
Clean hands and sharp minds, team
Adam
Back on 1/8!
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