The year is 4018. German is widely studied by scholars of classical antiquity, but all knowledge of the mysterious English language has died out. Scene: A classics department faculty lounge; a few professors are relaxing.
Category: Read
👓 Disaster strikes for couple who sold everything to sail around the world | The Mirror
Tanner Broadwell, 26, and Nikki Walsh, 24, have just £60 left after their vessel they had used all their funds to buy capsized at sea off the coast of Florida
📖 Read pages 29-44 of Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
The girls bicker and are at each other’s throats until mom comes home to say they’re expanding the house and adding on an extra room. Ramona gets it first.
Today’s word of the day: varlet!
👓 State launches Aetna probe after stunning admission | CNN
California's insurance commissioner has launched an investigation into Aetna after learning a former medical director for the insurer admitted under oath he never looked at patients' records when deciding whether to approve or deny care.
👓 The Songs That Bind | The New York Times
Data drawn from Spotify listeners reveal that we are all teenagers in love.
👓 Top official departs ‘rudderless’ railroad safety agency | Politico
The resignation of the former acting chief of the Federal Railroad Administration comes while Democrats are blocking a vote on a permanent leader — and as train-related deaths climb.
👓 Let’s Ban Porn | New York Times
An immodest proposal for the era of #MeToo.
👓 Gillibrand: If Trump wants due process, we’ll have hearings on allegations against him | The Hill
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) went after President Trump on Saturday for his tweet questioning a lack of "due process" in abuse claims, saying that Congress could hold hearings about sexual misconduct allegations against him if he wanted due process. “The President has shown through words and actions that he doesn’t value women. It’s not surprising that he doesn’t believe survivors or understand the national conversation that is happening,” Gillibrand tweeted.
📖 Read pages 1-28 of Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
Somehow this isn’t as entertaining as prior incarnations of Ramona, perhaps because it was written a few decades later? There’s still a kernel of Ramona, but something seems off.
Jesus, Beezus!
👓 Can’t Get Your News From Facebook Anymore? Try These 6 Apps | Wired
Now that the social network is changing what shows up in your feed, you’ll have to go elsewhere for current news.
I would prefer more transparency about how those that use algorithms are doing so.
Some of these don’t amount to much more than glorified RSS feed readers, and I’m shocked that the state of the art of the area isn’t much further along than it was a decade ago.
👓 Flu Vaccines and the Math of Herd Immunity | Quanta Magazine
Simple math shows how widespread vaccination can disrupt the exponential spread of disease and prevent epidemics.
📖 Read pages 168-192 of Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary
Again, some unnecessary anti-girl statements that really weren’t necessary. While somewhat funny, not quite as funny a chapter as Cleary’s usual work.
📖 Read pages 195-244 of Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
The Custard Continuum may have been one of my favorite parts of the book. I particularly like that he includes a recipe for butterscotch, which he’s right in saying that there are so few.
👓 Which problems make good research problems? | Back Reaction
Scientists solve problems; that’s their job. But which problems are promising topics of research? This is the question I set out to answer in Lost in Math at least concerning the foundations of physics. A first, rough, classification of research problems can be made using Thomas Kuhn’s cycle of scientific theories. Kuhn’s cycle consists of a phase of “normal science” followed by “crisis” leading to a paradigm change, after which a new phase of “normal science” begins. This grossly oversimplifies reality, but it will be good enough for what follows.
I’m going to have to track down a copy of Sabine Hossenfelder’s book Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray.
👓 As Other Aides Face Trump’s Ire Over Rob Porter’s Departure, Hope Hicks Is Praised | New York Times
The president dismissed an idea circulated by some aides and allies that he’d been unhappy with the role of Hope Hicks in workshopping an initial forceful defense of Mr. Porter.