Suggested readings, 21st March 2021

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out.

David Spiegelhalter, “There's no proof the Oxford vaccine causes blood clots. So why are people worried?” 15 Mar, The Guardian.

"Some anxiety about a new vaccine is understandable, and any suspected reactions should be investigated. But in the current circumstances we need to think slow as well as fast, and resist drawing causal links between events where none may exist."

Bryan Schonfeld and Sam Winter-Levy, “Faster vaccine trials could save lives without sacrificing ethics.” 18 Mar, Boston Globe.

"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts have debated whether to allow challenge trials to go forward. The benefits could be substantial: Though vaccines developed through conventional trials have already been approved, challenge trials could accelerate the development of more effective treatments and second-generation vaccines, potentially saving lives -- especially with new variants appearing all the time."

Tom Chivers, “Five rules for fact-checking shakey statistics in the news.” 19 Mar, WIRED.

"I want to help readers understand the numbers in the media a bit better: to talk about common ways in which they go wrong, and how to spot them. Here are five of the most important."

Andrew Solomon, “How Polyamorists and Polygamists Are Challenging Family Norms.” 15 Mar, New Yorker.

Polygamy and polyamory, despite their sociological distinctions, share many features.

John Phipps, “Why In Our Time remains the best thing on radio.” 20 Mar, The Spectator.

"In Our Time is the best thing on Radio 4, possibly the best thing on the radio full stop. It is broadcast regularly from a parallel universe where everyone is interesting, everything is worth knowing and anyone can know it if they want to. It gets the best out of its medium by being somewhat contemptuous of it. It understands that the overproduced trimmings of modern radio are entirely extraneous. There will be no sound effects, no music and no catchphrases."

Michael Huemer, “Why Humans Fight.” 20 Mar, Fake Nous.

Why do humans go to war? Philosopher Michael Huemer considers a number of possibilities.

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