Facebook Frolics 0
Snopes offers some hints for spotting Facebook phonies. Here’s one:
Follow the link for more and remember, “social” media isn’t.
Confronting the Claptrap 0
The writer of a letter to the editor of my local rag, responding to an earlier letter (linked at the link), cuts through the conservative claptrap in masterful fashion. A snippet; follow the link for the rest.
It’s the piece entitled “Long Journey,” the last letter on the page at the link.
Aside:
Normally, I would not offer such a cumbersome link, but the writer skewers sophistry so skillfully I must commend his work to your attention.
The Disinformation Superhighway 0
The Roanoke Times carries a story about how anti-vaxxers propagate propaganda manufactured out the whole cloth via the internet and “social” media.
Trying to excerpt or summarize it will not do it justice. Just follow the link.
Recommended Listening 0
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle.
I had a print copy of this book when I was a young ‘un, and it was one of my favorites. I must have read it four or five times.
Full disclosure: Howard Pyle was a Victorian author and illustrator who wrote this for younger readers, so Maid Mariam does not appear in this version of the Robin Hood tales, but it’s still a fun listen for younger readers of all ages.
A Taxonomy 0
Driftglass points out that one thing is not like the other thing.
Supply Change 0
Thom and Professor Steve Keen explore the true causes of the recent inflation and find it is related to the long-term supply chain change.
Afterthought:
Remember, China did not “take” American jobs.
American businesses moved them there so as to avoid paying American wages to American workers.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to other drivers of motorized conveyances whilst traversing the nation’s highways and byways.
We are a broken society.
Vaccine Nation 0
Stuart Blume offers thorough look at the concept of “herd immunity.” Methinks that it is a worthwhile read in these viral times. A nugget:
On the whole, no. In one study, for example, participants reported that their personal decisions were unaffected by whether people around them were vaccinated or not. Even among those who said they were influenced by their social network, few referred to herd immunity specifically. Some people recognized that childhood immunization had indirect benefits to the community. Nevertheless, they thought about immunizing their own children in terms of what they saw as their child’s benefit.
I must say that, when I was eagerly anticipated getting vaccinated against COVID, I was thinking primarily of my own safety and that of those around me, but I was also thinking of the society as a whole. Perhaps that’s because I’m old enough to remember pictures of little children (my age at the time) in iron lungs because of polio and how, once Dr. Salk and then Dr. Sabin perfected their vaccines, those pictures (and polio) went away.
I saw with my own eyes dramatic proof of the effectiveness of vaccines, and my mind goggles at portion of our populace which denies the evidence of things seen.
Geek Stuff 0
Running Spybot S & D in a VirtualBox virtual machine of Windows 8 on Ubuntu MATE with the Plasma desktop environment.
If you use Windows, you really should be using Spybot. It protects you from many variants of spyware.
