Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out.
Stuart Buck, “Escaping science’s paradox.” 19 Oct, Works in Progress.
"Science has two stark problems: replication and innovation. Many scientific findings aren’t reproducible. That is to say, you can’t be sure that another study or experiment on the same question would get similar results. At the same time, the pace of scientific innovation could be slowing down."
Tom Chivers, “The real reason flu cases are falling.” 30 Oct, UnHerd.
"[T]he two diseases are spread by similar means, so the measures we take to slow the spread of Covid-19 (masks, lockdowns, travel restrictions, etc) will also slow the spread of flu."
Niall Ferguson, “No more handshakes.” 30 Oct, The Times Literary Supplement.
Historian Niall Ferguson reviews Nicholas Christakis' new book, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live.
"The most Christakis can say in defence of the US response is that 'vastly more Americans would have died -- perhaps a million -- had we failed to deploy the resources we marshaled, belatedly, in the spring of 2020 to cope with the first wave of the pandemic'. He himself was never one lightly to dismiss the potential lethality of Covid-19. And via his Twitter feed (@NAChristakis) he provided an exceptionally illuminating and learned commentary on the pandemic from its earliest stages. He was well placed to do so. Though Christakis’s first degree was in biology, he also holds an MD, a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in sociology. His recent books... established him as a leading authority on social networks and contagion of all kinds."
You can also listen to Christakis' interview on Sam Harris' Making Sense podcast here.
Stuart Ritchie and Michael Story, “How the experts messed up on Covid” 26 Oct, UnHerd.
""Overconfidence from the experts, coupled with a willingness to denigrate and even pathologise those who publicly dissented, might have made it harder for us to change course during the pandemic, costing us precious time that we couldn’t afford"
Kelsey Piper, “What philosopher Peter Singer has learned in 45 years of advocating for animals.” 27 Oct, Vox.
Interview with Australian philosopher Peter Singer on what has changed since he wrote Animal Liberation in 1975.
"When I published Animal Liberation, I was focused entirely on the animal aspect of it. Then, during the ’80s, I became aware of the climate change issue, and of the role of animal production in that. So there was a second major argument for avoiding animal products. When I talk to people who’ve become vegan in the last few years, I find climate has played quite a significant role. And then in recent years, I’ve become aware of the risk of pandemics coming out of factory farming. So what I say in the [new] book is -- there’s now this third reason: animals, climate, pandemics."
Zaid Jilani, “How The Intercept Abandoned Its Truth-Seeking Mission—And Lost Its Best Journalist.” 30 Oct, Quillette.
"[Glenn] Greenwald is a controversial figure, but my sense of him is that he’s extremely principled. Although he’s unabashedly a man of the liberal-Left -- having spent years advocating for left-wing causes from animal rights to anti-war activism -- he has developed an impressive (some would call it inflexible) commitment to what he sees as basic fairness. He doesn’t care about the letter next to a politician’s name: Greenwald believes everyone in power should be held accountable at all times. For someone who’s so outspoken about his progressive politics, he’s remarkably consistent about refusing to do favors (including favors of omission) for any politician or party."
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