Against the “Noble Lie” – COVID-19 Edition
Alex NowrastehThe main political conflict in recent years is between experts or elites and non ‐experts. For lack of a better word, the non ‐experts are called populists. Their complaints have been specific: Elites and experts are arrogant, they have different values, they condescend in annoying ways, they ignore the sometimes legitimate concerns of populists, among others. Experts say that they should be listened to because they’ re more knowledgeable. We see it in debates on every issue from climate change to trade, immigration, and everything in between.The COVID-19 pandemic exposes another criticism of...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 25, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Bird Report 11 – Out and about
UPDATE: March 2020. Oh, the irony. I wrote this article for our village newsletter long before the Covid-19 pandemic had arisen. Since then, so much has changed and so many places are shut down. The countryside is still open, of course, and the likes of the National Trust and others have opened their open bits for free (all buildings and cafes are closed, however). Cambridge Botanical Gardens is now free to visit too.
So, if you’re not self-isolating, you’re not in a vulnerable group, and you’re practicing social distancing, there are still plenty of places to visit to see the wildlife. The very wildlife ...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - March 21, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Birds Source Type: blogs
Bird Report 11 – Out and about – or not!
UPDATE: 20:45, same day – The National Trust has issued a new statement just hours after I posted this, no longer allowing access to their land other than the public places they manage.
UPDATE: March 2020. Oh, the irony. I wrote this article for our village newsletter long before the Covid-19 pandemic had arisen. Since then, so much has changed and so many places are shut down. The countryside is still open, of course.
So, if you’re not self-isolating, you’re not in a vulnerable group, and you’re practicing social distancing, there are still plenty of places to visit to see the wildlife. The very wi...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - March 21, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Birds Source Type: blogs
Fast Forward to 2040: How to prepare for the new era in brain enhancement that will change the way we think, work, and heal
Decades from now when our augmented brains have enhanced our cognitive function and transformed nearly every aspect of our lives, many of us will look back and wonder why we didn’t do more to prepare for these inevitable changes. Government leaders may grapple with the runaway effects of AI and brain enhancement on geopolitics. Companies that fail to incorporate neurotechnologies and BCI into their operational flow could lose significant market share and be forced to scramble in an attempt to regain a foothold in an industry they once dominated.
Workers who don’t heed the warnings to re-skill or upskill may find themse...
Source: SharpBrains - March 19, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tan Le Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness Technology Adam Gazzaley AI book brain brain-enhancement brainpower cognitive-function Ed Boyden enhance the brain Fourth Industrial Revolution healthcare Source Type: blogs
We ’re All in This Together: Facing the Coronavirus Crisis
I am writing this article from bed, listening to the sweet sounds of Sleepy Hollow on University of Pennsylvania station, WXPN, which includes easing into the day music that is a regular part of my Saturday morning. I plan to remain at home, not interacting physically with other human beings, but certainly available via phone or cyberspace. Thankfully, I am showing no symptoms of COVID-19, but I am monitoring closely, since I was in the hospital three times in the past month for cardiac and kidney stone related issues which puts me in a high-risk group, along with being part of the over-60 crowd.
Except for going to work ...
Source: World of Psychology - March 14, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW Tags: Health-related Personal anxiety community coronavirus social distancing Source Type: blogs
Five Ways to Make Learning at Home More Fun
You're reading Five Ways to Make Learning at Home More Fun, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Whether you're homeschooling or simply encouraging your child to learn over the holidays, it can be difficult to move away from the idea that homework is stuffy, boring and a chore. Encouraging your child, no matter their age, to get deeply involved with learning at home will help to improve their education outcome – so what are some ways to get them excited?
1. Learn Together
Learning with your child shou...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - March 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Teachers to Your Home Tags: family featured happiness self education children learning self improvement Source Type: blogs
9 Things You Need to Stop Doing to Start Living a Happier and Self-Kinder Life
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”’
Helen Keller
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Living a life where you're happier and kinder towards yourself is not just about what you can do.
But also about what you are already doing. And especially those habits that do have a negative and unhappy impact on your life.
So this week I'd like to share 9 such habits. And what have helped me a whole lot to do instead.
1. Stop overthinking.
Overt...
Source: Practical Happiness and Awesomeness Advice That Works | The Positivity Blog - March 4, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Henrik Edberg Tags: Happiness Personal Development Relaxation Success Source Type: blogs
Boomerang Anxiety: What Is It and How Can You Handle It?
Anxiety is a normal reaction to the stresses we all experience in life. What? Yes, it’s normal to feel that racing heartbeat, catch in your breath, and overall oddness that can feel like panic. Short responses to external circumstances can help you make the right decision. It is when anxious feelings and obsessive thoughts control emotions and interfere with your life that anxiety becomes a problem. Sometimes, after you learn how to handle your anxiety, it may disappear, but in certain cases, there it is again wanting to take over, like a long-lost boomerang coming back to you after you thought you had thrown it away.
...
Source: World of Psychology - March 2, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jan McDaniel Tags: Anxiety and Panic Rumination Worry Source Type: blogs
Numbers vs Alignment
If the numbers in your work (like sales and profits) matter more than the alignment of your work (like fulfillment, purpose, and appreciation), then even if you succeed on those terms, you may end up with bigger numbers but with lower alignment, which can strangle your motivation.
Good luck pursuing bigger numbers when you’ve lost your mojo because you feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated. Better numbers aren’t much compensation for the daily punishment of feeling emotionally out of sync with life. This approach will just disconnect you from your heart, and then you’ll likely feel inclined to spend m...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - February 16, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Abundance Values Source Type: blogs
MiSight 1 day Contacts to Slow Myopia: Interview with Michele Andrews of CooperVision
CooperVision, a contact lens developer based in San Ramon, California, recently received FDA approval for its MiSight 1 day contact lens. The lens is the first to slow the progression of myopia when worn by children aged 8-12 years old.
Myopia is very common, but it doesn’t just affect the way someone sees objects at a distance, and can trigger other conditions such as detached retina and cataracts. The condition typically develops during childhood, and can makes things like seeing the blackboard at school difficult for kids.
Myopia occurs when the eyeball grows too long, meaning that light rays are focused at a p...
Source: Medgadget - February 14, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Ophthalmology Source Type: blogs
Early Birds And Bearded Dragons: The Week ’s Best Psychology Links
Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web
A study on bearded dragons has honed in on the brain structure responsible for generating slow wave sleep patterns, writes Elizabeth Pennisi at Science. An area of the brain called the claustrum — not previously known to even exist in reptiles — was key: when the structure was damaged, the lizards could still sleep but showed no slow wave patterns. It’s been an interesting few months for bearded dragon research: as we wrote in December, the lizards apparently also succumb to optical illusions.
A mismatch between a student’s “chron...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - February 14, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Weekly links Source Type: blogs
Why Are We Afraid of Grief?
After receiving news of a death, no matter our emotional state, most of us think to do at least some of these things: call others, check our schedules and arrange any necessary changes to accommodate the funeral or memorial service and any travel required, organize meals for the bereaved, visit the home or funeral home and leave offers of help, and comfort survivors.
Stop for a moment and think now about the people you encountered in your everyday life today, on the roadways, public transportation, in shops and offices of every kind, or just walking down the street. Might some of these have received that call and be grievi...
Source: World of Psychology - February 5, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jan McDaniel Tags: Grief and Loss Personal Self-Help Bereavement Source Type: blogs
Artificial Intelligence vs. Tuberculosis – Part 2
By SAURABH JHA, MD
Clever Hans
Preetham Srinivas, the head of the
chest radiograph project in Qure.ai, summoned Bhargava Reddy, Manoj Tadepalli, and
Tarun Raj to the meeting room.
“Get ready for an all-nighter, boys,”
said Preetham.
Qure’s scientists began investigating
the algorithm’s mysteriously high performance on chest radiographs from a new
hospital. To recap, the algorithm had an area under the receiver operating
characteristic curve (AUC) of 1 – that’s 100 % on multiple-choice question
test.
“Someone leaked the paper to AI,”
laughed Manoj.
“It’s an engineering college joke,...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Artificial Intelligence Health Tech Health Technology @roguerad AI Saurabh Jha TB tuberculosis Source Type: blogs
Owl spotting
Short-eared Owl at Burwell Fen, photographed mid-January
One evening in late November, I was once again, hoping to catch sight of the Starling murmurations that occur over the Broad Lane balancing pond. As mentioned in a previous, issue the local Starlings and their continental counterparts will often roost in the reed bed there, last winter there were literally thousands. At the time of writing, just a few hundred are roosting, but that can change on a wind as arrivals from Europe turn up when the weather changes. Anyway, reader Alison waved as she passed the pond on her dog walk. I later heard that she’d seen a scu...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - January 19, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Birds Source Type: blogs
High-Trust Pricing
Many entrepreneurs find pricing decisions for their products and services really challenging. You’ll often hear such people asking each other, “What should I charge?”
I’ve read a number of books about pricing with complex ideas on how to do it correctly. Most involved some form of testing and optimization. They all shared the same underlying assumption though: that the optimal prices are those which extract the most long-term profit. Since that’s extremely difficult to predict, testing is essential.
Testing of that nature can be dreadfully boring though, and you still won’t know if...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - January 13, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Abundance Productivity Source Type: blogs
