This article was originally published in 2017 on Philosophy Of Bitcoin.
What good are bitcoins if you can’t show them off? I can’t wear a bitcoin chain around my neck or a bitcoin watch on my wrist. Nor can I hang a bitcoin on the wall. And because bitcoins are highly divisible and fungible they make for poor collectibles. I can’t possibly complete my bitcoin collection or impress people with the story of a specific bitcoin’s particular place in history or what makes it different from the other bitcoins out there.
These limitations are one reason why bitcoin is a peculiar store of value. …
On November 14 a South Dakota nurse tweeted about her remarkable experiences with Covid patients in denial:
An “ethical hacker” shows how easy it is to fool cyber security reporters
Original publication date: October 22. Updated (modified concluding paragraphs) October 25
Updated December 16: News from Dutch prosecutors (bottom of the post)
A remarkable story published today describes how famed Dutch “ethical hacker” — Victor Gevers — got access to Donald Trump’s Twitter account by correctly guessing the password: ’maga2020!’
Written by cybersecurity reporter @gerardjanssen for Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland, the story was breathlessly retweeted by countless other journalists and commentators: How could Trump’s security possibly be this ridiculously bad?
But by taking a closer look at the claims made by the hacker something else becomes clear: What’s ridiculously easy is not hacking Trump’s Twitter account but fooling experienced journalists. …
It is not just COVID-19 itself that is causing hardship. The lockdown and the general atmosphere of panic surrounding COVID-19 have had devastating consequences:
- Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs
- Many businesses have gone under
- People will lose their homes
- Stress and anxiety are taking their toll
- Suicides and abuse are going up
- Hospitals and other healthcare providers are suspending “elective care” and reducing hours and laying off staff
- Patients in need of medical care are afraid to go to the hospital
- A worldwide economic crisis means devastation for people in poor countries
This is the first part in this series about the non-Covid casualties of the COVID-19 crisis. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. …
It is not just COVID-19 itself that is causing hardship. The lockdown and the general atmosphere of panic surrounding COVID-19 have had devastating consequences:
- Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs
- Many businesses have gone under
- People will lose their homes
- Stress and anxiety are taking their toll
- Suicides and abuse are going up
- Hospitals and other healthcare providers are suspending “elective care” and reducing hours and laying off staff
- Patients in need of medical care are afraid to go to the hospital
- A worldwide economic crisis means devastation for people in poor countries
This is the fourth part in this series about the non-Covid casualties of the COVID-19 crisis. Part I can be found here, part II here, and part III here. …
Visualizing worldwide influenza and SARS-CoV-2 activity over time
August 15, 2020: Major updates to article and animations
Influenza viruses travel across the globe in a wave. In much of the northern hemisphere influenza activity picks up in late November, early December, peaks around February, and then starts to go down, only to emerge in much of the Southern hemisphere around May before reaching its peak there around July or August, then decreasing and reemerging in the Northern hemisphere. …
It is not just COVID-19 itself that is causing hardship. The lockdown and the general atmosphere of panic surrounding COVID-19 have had devastating consequences:
- Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs
- Many businesses have gone under
- People will lose their homes
- Stress and anxiety are taking their toll
- Suicides and abuse are going up
- Hospitals and other healthcare providers are suspending “elective care” and reducing hours and laying off staff
- Patients in need of medical care are afraid to go to the hospital
- A worldwide economic crisis means devastation for people in poor countries
This is the third part in this series about the non-Covid casualties of the COVID-19 crisis. Part I can be found here, part II here, and part IV here. …
2,000+ Superspreading Events From Around the World
Latest article update: November 21. Latest database update: January 9, 2021.
SARS-CoV-2 “superspreading events” (SSEs) occur when a large number of people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the same event.
SSEs appear to be the driving force behind the current pandemic. Most infected people don’t infect anybody else, and the ones that do typically only infect one or a few others. But a small number of people infect a lot of others. Multiple studies show that 70–80% of transmissions can be traced back to just 10–20% of cases.
Therefore, in order to have a better chance of containing the virus it is important to investigate the features of SSEs. Specifically, knowing in what types of settings SSEs typically occur may help the public, public health professionals, policy makers, organizations and industry prevent SSEs from happening in the future. …
It is not just COVID-19 itself that is causing hardship. The lockdown and the general atmosphere of panic surrounding COVID-19 have had devastating consequences:
- Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs
- Many businesses have gone under
- People will lose their homes
- Stress and anxiety are taking their toll
- Suicides and abuse are going up
- Hospitals and other healthcare providers are suspending “elective care” and reducing hours and laying off staff
- Patients in need of medical care are afraid to go to the hospital
- A worldwide economic crisis means devastation for people in poor countries
This series tells the stories of these non-Covid casualties of the COVID-19 crisis, and will continue to be updated with new stories. The first part in this series was published here. Part III is here, and part IV here. …
Without a need for vaccines, contact tracing, lockdowns or any other far-reaching measures.
- Avoid superspreading events, which seem to occur when large numbers of people spend a prolonged period of time in poorly ventilated spaces, especially when there is a lot of laughing, singing, shouting or talking involved.
- When it is not possible to avoid such settings entirely, people should spend as little time as possible in them. Duration matters.
- Consider advising people to wear masks in such settings as well as in public transport but note that evidence for the efficacy of wearing masks is mixed at best, and people may take greater risks when they believe masks will protect them. …
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