This world map shows only the regions with an average life expectancy of over 80 years. Source: https://t.co/GJJnFjGtuj pic.twitter.com/0gQDk5yWmZ
— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) December 1, 2019
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Data Talks
I see wonderful things
That's a nice sea sponge.....wait a second....
— Jan Freedman (@JanFreedman) November 30, 2019
Cuttlefish camouflage is AMAZING!!!!!
(📽️imgr blunderbustterrs) pic.twitter.com/KIX6XmimLJ
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh
Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh
Click to enlarge.
Gertrude Himmelfarb
I note the passing yesterday of historian, philosopher and public intellectual Gertrude Himmelfarb. Her obituary in the New York Times is here and her Wikipedia entry here.
I have perhaps half a dozen of her books; two copies of The De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values. I have not yet finished any one of them, merely, but happily, sampled them. Her breadth of knowledge and the depth of her convictions are impressive.
She brought attention to the importance of social norms and cultural values which I value and was a strong critic of the intellectual masturbation of postmodernism and all its fallacies. She could shift across fields and range from detail to high level abstract.
The NYT's obituary provides an example of the latter.
Were the assertions reasonable accurate or widely understood, we might still make progress. But they are not. Indeed, many if not most of them are not asserted facts at all. They are asserted opinions.
Much of this can be addressed via footnotes. The place by which the pace of the argument can continue but where accepted facts can be calibrated.
I had not ever thought of it as a moral lapse but can see the reason for thinking it so.
We were fortunate to have a mind of her calibre and the circumstances for her wide-ranging thinking and writing.
I have perhaps half a dozen of her books; two copies of The De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values. I have not yet finished any one of them, merely, but happily, sampled them. Her breadth of knowledge and the depth of her convictions are impressive.
She brought attention to the importance of social norms and cultural values which I value and was a strong critic of the intellectual masturbation of postmodernism and all its fallacies. She could shift across fields and range from detail to high level abstract.
The NYT's obituary provides an example of the latter.
One thing about which she had no doubts, however, was the importance of footnotes. In 1991, writing in The New York Times Book Review, she said she viewed the growing absence of footnotes in scholarly books as “a moral lapse.”Indeed. As more people receive higher education but the quality and consistency of that education becomes more uncertain, it also becomes more challenging to have real discussions. Exchanges boil down to exchanges of unsupported assertions rather than a real conjoined effort to understand the real truth.
Were the assertions reasonable accurate or widely understood, we might still make progress. But they are not. Indeed, many if not most of them are not asserted facts at all. They are asserted opinions.
Much of this can be addressed via footnotes. The place by which the pace of the argument can continue but where accepted facts can be calibrated.
I had not ever thought of it as a moral lapse but can see the reason for thinking it so.
We were fortunate to have a mind of her calibre and the circumstances for her wide-ranging thinking and writing.
Results show a strong negative correlation between empathy scores and the divergence time separating them from us.
From Empathy and compassion toward other species decrease with evolutionary divergence time by Aurélien Miralles, Michel Raymond & Guillaume Lecointre. From the Abstract.
Click to enlarge.
Currently the planet is inhabited by several millions of extremely diversified species. Not all of them arouse emotions of the same nature or intensity in humans. Little is known about the extent of our affective responses toward them and the factors that may explain these differences. Our online survey involved 3500 raters who had to make choices depending on specific questions designed to either assess their empathic perceptions or their compassionate reactions toward an extended photographic sampling of organisms. Results show a strong negative correlation between empathy scores and the divergence time separating them from us. However, beyond a certain time of divergence, our empathic perceptions stabilize at a minimum level. Compassion scores, although based on less spontaneous choices, remain strongly correlated to empathy scores and time of divergence. The mosaic of features characterizing humans has been acquired gradually over the course of the evolution, and the phylogenetically closer a species is to us, the more it shares common traits with us. Our results could be explained by the fact that many of these traits may arouse sensory biases. These anthropomorphic signals could be able to mobilize cognitive circuitry and to trigger prosocial behaviors usually at work in human relationships.The findings are not surprising, but it is interesting to see how they attempt to quantify.
I see wonderful things
A happy Christmas to all: here is an uplifting video of a massive stadium of Japanese singing Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' in German with a Japanese orchestra. Incredible. https://t.co/MQfNlTUnmm
— Janice Fiamengo (@JaniceFiamengo) December 25, 2019
Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
Via Maggie's Farm.
Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Data visualization
Natural disasters kill the least amount of people they have killed for a 100 years. Around 60,000 . Cancer kills 10 million. I believe some people don't know how good humanity has gotten to avoid catastrophic weather events.https://t.co/vaeSiggB0B
— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) December 9, 2019
Best of the Bee
Narwhal Tusk Surrender Bins Installed Throughout The UK https://t.co/Y7LGMaj7oG
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 2, 2019
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