Business Insider
Business InsiderPreparing for the worst: Strain on the health system is why we should do everything we can to flatten this curve by slowing transmission.
health
nytimes.com
"The University of Washington said it would move to online classes for its 50,000 students. With colleges nationwide about to empty for spring break, students fear they might not be coming back."They’re planning to open their campus again March 30th.
The Atlantic
The AtlanticThis is a difficult article to read because it’s about a massive failure, but it’s important to face the truth of where we are. This was especially surprising:
"Oregon, situated between the California and Washington hotspots, can test only about 40 people a day."We have some catching up to do:
"Today, more than a week after the country’s first case of community transmission, the most significant finding about the coronavirus’s spread in the United States has come from an independent genetic study, not from field data collected by the government. And no state or city has banned large gatherings or implemented the type of aggressive “social distancing” policies employed to battle the virus in Italy, Hong Kong, and other affluent places."
Smithsonian Magazine
Smithsonian MagazineTime to quickly learn from the past.
"That is why, in my view, the most important lesson from 1918 is to tell the truth. Though that idea is incorporated into every preparedness plan I know of, its actual implementation will depend on the character and leadership of the people in charge when a crisis erupts."This article from 2017 is a sobering read.
STAT
STAT"Seattle is effectively in the position that Wuhan was on Jan. 1, when it first recognized it had an outbreak of a new virus, but did not realize the scale of the problem or the speed at which the virus was spreading, Bedford said."The lack of testing has really put us at a disadvantage.
stayinghome.club
stayinghome.clubThis is a helpful look at how tech companies are responding to covid-19 through changes in policy and events. Great to see this leadership.
gq.com
Speaking of digital habits, Cal Newport has a new book called Digital Minimalism. This GQ interview has some great gems on the rise of social media, like this: "It took this careful attention engineering, and cultural engineering, to try to make this seem innovative, and high-tech, and like you had to be doing this. If that falls apart, the whole thing goes." Ezra Klein also recently had him on his podcast: Cal Newport has an answer for digital burnout.
Motherboard
Justin Kosslyn is addressing global security concerns at Google and here he argues that friction can be a positive force in technology. We tend to think of friction as something that should be removed from every aspect of our lives. (e.g. If we could only do our banking transactions faster than we could spend more time doing what we want.) Kosslyn argues, "It’s time to bring friction back. Friction buys time, and time reduces systemic risk. A disease cannot become an epidemic if patients are cured more quickly than the illness spreads." Ezra Klein at Vox ties this idea to the success of podcasting in The case for slowing everything down a bit: "I believe that one reason podcasts have exploded is that they carry so much friction: They’re long and messy, they often take weeks or months to produce, they’re hard to clip and share and skim — and as a result, they’re calmer, more human, more judicious, less crazy-making." Meanwhile, Farhad Manjoo signs off of his NYT technology column with a similar sentiment in How to Survive the Next Era of Tech (Slow Down and Be Mindful): "Adopt late. Slow down."
The New York Times
The screen struggle is real. I'm trying to find this line with my kids and with myself and this article is more fuel for the less-is-more fire.
-
This is a nice reminder that using social media is a choice, not an obligation.
-
The Atlantic has a very nice story about a recent Ask MetaFilter question.
-
Great security reminders. A password made up of three distinct words is fairly secure against a brute force attack. If developers build in a delay after failed password attempts that also helps deter brute force attacks. [via capn design]
-
ugh, this isn't good. "The fructose component of sugar and H.F.C.S. is metabolized primarily by the liver, while the glucose from sugar and starches is metabolized by every cell in the body. Consuming sugar (fructose and glucose) means more work for the liver than if you consumed the same number of calories of starch (glucose)."