Thought Shrapnel

A reminder that Thought Shrapnel is in “low-power mode” over the summer. Here are 10 interesting things with minimal commentary ☀️

• The bewildering phenomenon of declining quality (EL PAÍS)— Wow, this is quite the article: “Put another way: it’s not the quality of things that’s declined — it’s us.”
• ‘I’d had 28 years of depression – now it was gone’: Comic Paul Foot on three seconds that changed his life (The Guardian) — The only thing I’ve felt similar was about 20 years ago which marked the start of the end of a period of stress and anxiety. My work environment was causing it, and my body suddenly said “no more.”
• What Happens When Housing Prices Go Down (because they are)? (Chuck with Strong Towns) — This article is US-focused, but house prices have started to fall in the UK, too. The property market isn’t designed for this to happen.
• What Scientists Learned Scanning the Bodies of 100,000 Brits (Bloomberg) — This is promising: an anonymised database of medical images which gives new insights into disease and helps to predict medical conditions. The process is entirely opt-in, unlike the grab of data by Palantir via the NHS federated data platform.
• Status, class, and the crisis of expertise (Conspicuous Cognition) — An eloquent explanation of what’s happened over the last 15-20 years: “[T]he populist celebration of “common sense” over expert authority… enacts an exhilarating status reversal. It frames ordinary people—those without educational credentials—as the real source of knowledge and wisdom. It creates the conditions for epistemic equality. It says that there is no need to accept assistance from fancy intellectuals with fancy degrees—and so no need to grant them status.”
• You can’t outrun a bad diet. Food — not lack of exercise — fuels obesity, study finds (NPR)— Since January, the amount of cardio I’ve been able to do has gone off a cliff. Weirdly, I’ve lost weight, which I guess that’s muscle loss, but I’ve also had to be really careful about what I’ve been eating.
• Cops say criminals use a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS — I say that’s freedom (Android Authority) — I use GrapheneOS, a security-hardened version of Android on my Pixel Fold. It’s great, and I’m always surprised at the experience others have when I see others using their phones. Apparently, using this OS means I’m bracketed with drug dealers. Ah well.
• How to increase your surface area for luck (Useful Fictions) — I’ve said for years that it’s possible to increase what I would call your serendipity surface. Here’s another author saying something similar.
• Surprising Science: How Electric Cars Quietly Transform Urban Air (Modern Engineering Marvels) — Last year, there was some kind of study which summised that because EVs are heavier, they must cause more microplastic pollution via tyres. More recent investgations show this isn’t true, and in fact they produce “38% less particulate pollution than gas-powered cars before even considering their lack of tailpipe emissions.”
• World’s top court says major polluters may need to pay reparations for climate harm (CNN Climate) — The President of the International Court of Justice, Yuji Iwasawa, has presented an advisory opinion running to 500 pages. He stated: “The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights… Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system … may constitute an internationally wrongful act.” Hopefully this will lead to some action, but I’m not holding my breath.

👋 That’s it until next week! Check out my latest week note if you’re still looking for something to read.

– Doug