The N&G Science Discussion Thread

[jaycee]

This explains (sort-of) why this little volcanic island is the areas most active. The rate of subduction of the Pacific plate is around 47mm/yr in the area where the volcano formed. More rapid subduction = more material plus gas = more eruptions.

Geology of New Zealand - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Apparently it's a very popular tourist destination for volcano viewing.

 

[LeSamourai]

Not surprising, but glad somebody did this survey / study

Men ask most of the questions at scientific conferences; we can choose to change that

Even in a majority-women audience at an academic conference, men ask questions most of the time, researchers report on June 27th in The American Journal of Human Genetics. After analyzing participation in Q&As at the American Society of Human Genetics and Biology of Genomes conferences over four...

phys.org

And, at academic conferences, most of the "questions" are really just long commentary on something tangential to the speaker's topic but actually closer to the questioner's pet topic, with a "wouldn't you say?" tacked on to make it a question.

 

[jaycee]

And, at academic conferences, most of the "questions" are really just long commentary on something tangential to the speaker's topic but actually closer to the questioner's pet topic, with a "wouldn't you say?" tacked on to make it a question.

the generalization is pretty accurate in my experience

it's part of the game, part of the training, for most

but it's also roughly true in most offices or anywhere people are trying to pose via their intelligence and ego

 

[LeSamourai]

the generalization is pretty accurate in my experience

it's part of the game, part of the training, for most

but it's also roughly true in most offices or anywhere people are trying to pose via their intelligence and ego

Definitely. I have a bachelor's in biology, but my MA is in Spanish literature, so I got to see this happen in both science and the humanities. At Spanish lit conferences, we even coined a funny term for this kind of "questions-" preguntertulia, which combines the word for question (pregunta) with one that means a long, meandering intellectual conversation (tertulia).

 

[Jan]

A cross-post from the politics thread. It´s quite an interesting article About statistical model ( by physicists and mathematicians) for Wealth Distribution.

Is Inequality Inevitable?

Wealth naturally trickles up in free-market economies, model suggests

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[cul8er]

If anyone is looking for information about the Corona virus, this has probably the most factual and readable explanations out there.

Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus [Updated 4/5]

This is a fast-moving epidemic—we’ll update this guide periodically.

arstechnica.com

 

[LeSamourai]

If anyone is looking for information about the Corona virus, this has probably the most factual and readable explanations out there.

Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus [Updated 4/5]

This is a fast-moving epidemic—we’ll update this guide periodically.

arstechnica.com

The Next Pandemic: On the Front Lines Against Humankind…

An inside account of the fight to contain the world’s d…

www.goodreads.com

Although it doesn't talk about coronavirus (it's a few years old), I recommend this book for anyone curious about the work of the CDC and other government health and science agencies in crises like this. The author was the head CDC's center for zoonotic diseases, and traveled the world researching emergent or resurgent diseases like Ebola, SARS, MERS, and even the anthrax scare in 2001. It shows how serious they take it even with diseases that only kill a handful of people at a time (like bubonic plague in the U.S. southwest), and how much on-the-ground work goes in to tracing and containing these things.

 

[jaycee]

What Could Warming Mean for Pathogens like Coronavirus?

Scientists expect to see changes in the timing, location and severity of disease outbreaks as global temperatures rise

www.scientificamerican.com

Coronavirus and climate change – DW – 03/05/2020

Coronavirus has cut emissions faster than years of climate negotiations. Does the outbreak reveal what life might be like if we were to act seriously on climate change? Or what it might be like if we don't?

www.dw.com

 

[jaycee]

Thought this piece was an interesting listen: Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You'll Never Guess Where They Have Eyes : Short Wave
it's amazing what we keep learning. 30 years ago I remember some people still arguing that anything that wasn't human lacked intelligence

 

[LeSamourai]

Thought this piece was an interesting listen: Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You'll Never Guess Where They Have Eyes : Short Wave
it's amazing what we keep learning. 30 years ago I remember some people still arguing that anything that wasn't human lacked intelligence

I enjoyed this book on animal intelligence and the difficulty of trying to discover or measure it: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

 

[Dtknuckles]

Thought this piece was an interesting listen: Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You'll Never Guess Where They Have Eyes : Short Wave
it's amazing what we keep learning. 30 years ago I remember some people still arguing that anything that wasn't human lacked intelligence

I wonder what it would be like to live as a butterfly. Nature is a weird thing.

 

[jaycee]

I wonder what it would be like to live as a butterfly. Nature is a weird thing.

y - i sometimes think about things like that. I'm interested in the ways that all kinds of things communicate, navigate, etc. especially with color.

 

[Jan]

I wonder what it would be like to live as a butterfly.

Maybe more a question for philosophers, at least reminded me of Thomas Nagels essay.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/study/ugmodules/humananimalstudies/lectures/32/nagel_bat.pdf

 

[LeSamourai]

Maybe more a question for philosophers, at least reminded me of Thomas Nagels essay.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/study/ugmodules/humananimalstudies/lectures/32/nagel_bat.pdf

Yeah, the whole idea of trying to conceptualize the umwelt of another species is a brain-wrinkling and fascinatingly futile exercise. Like, I can't even accurately imagine seeing into the UV spectrum, so how could I ever fathom echolocation, or sensing magnetic fields?

 

[jaycee]

Useful visual and narrative representation of what the rest of the century might look like in the U.S. Climate refugees are likely.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States

According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.

projects.propublica.org

 

[Dtknuckles]

Useful visual and narrative representation of what the rest of the century might look like in the U.S. Climate refugees are likely.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States

According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.

projects.propublica.org

my sister has been lobbying hard for me to pick up my family and move, specifically Maine. There is a lot of reasons why it’s just no possible, buyer recent efforts have used climate migration as a reason. She just sent me the big times article for me to read.

 

[nolalady]

Useful visual and narrative representation of what the rest of the century might look like in the U.S. Climate refugees are likely.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States

According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.

projects.propublica.org

This is appropriate for me:

 

[jaycee]

my sister has been lobbying hard for me to pick up my family and move, specifically Maine. There is a lot of reasons why it’s just no possible, buyer recent efforts have used climate migration as a reason. She just sent me the big times article for me to read.

Well I'm sure the recent situations in CA are not helping their anxiety, but imo it's all a little premature. There are so many personal factors that may or may not make a change like that worth it. Climate future wise someplace like Grand Rapids, MI might make a lot of sense but for every other reason it probably doesn't (no offense Grand Rapids, MI).

I think there are probably people, primarily in the S. and S.E. that will not want to settle there and move north as it becomes hotter and more humid and sea level continues to rise and storms become more intense and flood insurance is further out of reach. Out West some people will need to move because of fires, fire threat, and not being able to insure their homes. I think others will not be able to make the choice to leave.

I wonder what it might mean for housing prices?

 

[wokeupnew]

Useful visual and narrative representation of what the rest of the century might look like in the U.S. Climate refugees are likely.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States

According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.

projects.propublica.org

my sister has been lobbying hard for me to pick up my family and move, specifically Maine. There is a lot of reasons why it’s just not possible, buyer recent efforts have used climate migration as a reason. She just sent me the big times article for me to read.

I've thought a lot about moving to the west coast, specifically the PNW because I like the climate, scenery, etc. But I think Vermont is kind of in a sweet spot with how the climate will change. At a good elevation, no major fires, no droughts, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, just the occasional snow storm which is manageable.

 

[jaycee]

I've thought a lot about moving to the west coast, specifically the PNW because I like the climate, scenery, etc. But I think Vermont is kind of in a sweet spot with how the climate will change. At a good elevation, no major fires, no droughts, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, just the occasional snow storm which is manageable.

Y - I'm in the Twin Cities and want to bail for various reasons but it is kind-of a sweet spot too. Of course by the time these projection scenarios would play out I'll likely be well on my way to being consumed by microbes. I've been thinking about giving Burlington a look.