Suggested readings, #146

Here it is, a rundown of interesting articles I’ve come across recently, to consider for your weekend readings:

Why should we worry that the U.S. could become an ‘anocracy’ again? Because of the threat of civil war. I will never forget interviewing Berina Kovac, who had lived in multiethnic Sarajevo in the early 1990s, when Bosnia and Herzegovina was moving toward independence from Yugoslavia. Though militias had begun to organize in the hills and former colleagues increasingly targeted her with ethnic slurs, Kovac continued to go to work, attend weddings and take weekend holidays, trusting that everything would work out. One evening in March 1992, she was at home with her infant son when the power went out. “And then, suddenly,” Kovac told me, “you started to hear machine guns.” … (Washington Post)

The COVID Jerk. We all know the type. First appearing in the spring of 2020, the COVID jerk strutted unmasked through the supermarket, exhaling clouds of risk on worried shoppers and employees, and daring low-paid workers to try to enforce the new policies. Flaunting their disdain for scientific consensus, they stepped close behind you in line, breathing on your shoulder, complaining about maximum-occupancy requirements. … (Atlantic)

The science (and pseudoscience) of aging. Some animals (such as hydras and some jellyfish) can apparently live forever, but we humans are all going to die. Longevity is desirable, but aging—a slow process of deterioration—is not. Hearing declines (half of those older than seventy-five have disabling hearing loss), as does visual acuity (by age eighty, 70 percent of white Americans have cataracts [National Eye Institute 2019]). Reflexes are slower; reaction time increases. Strength declines, and bone density decreases. The skin thins and bruises more easily. Wrinkles develop; the hair turns gray and then white. Height decreases by one to three inches. Dementia increases with age, affecting 19 percent of those between ages seventy-five and eighty-four and nearly half of those over eighty-five. Numerous diseases become more common, such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. If they live long enough, almost all men will develop prostate cancer although most of them will die with it rather than because of it. … (Skeptical Inquirer)

What Aristotle can teach us about building a better society. More than 2,300 years ago, Aristotle wrote about eudaimonia—commonly translated as human flourishing—and discussed how we can best live our lives. It is a concept that has influenced philosophers through the ages, from Thomas Aquinas to Martha Nussbaum, who have in different ways developed theories about how we can live the good life and fulfil our true capability and potential as human beings. … (Prospect Magazine)

Why your zodiac sign is probably wrong. I was born a Capricorn (please don’t judge me), but the Sun was in the middle of Sagittarius when I was born. As a professor emeritus of astronomy, I am often asked about the difference between astrology and astronomy. The practice of astrology, which predicts one’s fate and fortune based on the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets, dates back to ancient times. It was intermingled with the science of astronomy back then – in fact, many astronomers of old made scientific observations that are valuable even today. But once Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo realized the planets orbit the Sun, rather than the Earth, and Newton discovered the physical laws behind their behavior, astrology and astronomy split, never to be reunited. The science of astronomy is now at odds with one of the basic organizing principles in astrology – the dates of the zodiac. … (The Conversation)

You don’t think in any language. A provocative title, perhaps, and perhaps also counterintuitive. One thinks in the language one speaks, everybody knows that. Why would anyone ask bilingual speakers which language they think in (or dream in) otherwise? … (3QuarksDaily)

Skeptics say, ‘Do your own research.’ It’s not that simple. A new slogan has emerged in the culture: “Do your own research.” On internet forums and social media platforms, people arguing about hotly contested topics like vaccines, climate change and voter fraud sometimes bolster their point or challenge their interlocutors by slipping in the acronym “D.Y.O.R.” … (New York Times)