tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/mit-press-55139/articles
MIT Press – La Conversation
2020-07-28T12:17:31Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/143078
2020-07-28T12:17:31Z
2020-07-28T12:17:31Z
How to hide from a drone – the subtle art of ‘ghosting’ in the age of surveillance
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349270/original/file-20200723-19-1selkhc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C204%2C4252%2C2346&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The federal government has used military-grade border patrol drones like this one to monitor protests in US cities.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/joncutrer/43252568250/">_ Jonathan Cutrer/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Drones of all sizes are being used by environmental advocates to monitor deforestation, by conservationists to track poachers, and by journalists and activists to document large protests. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MEUtCZYAAAAJ&hl=en">political sociologist</a> who studies social movements and drones, I document a wide range of nonviolent and pro-social drone uses in my new book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/good-drone">The Good Drone</a>.” I show that these efforts have the potential to democratize surveillance. </p>
<p>But when the Department of Homeland Security redirects large, fixed-wing drones from the U.S.-Mexico border to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/us/politics/george-floyd-protests-surveillance.html">monitor protests</a>, and when towns experiment with using drones to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/connecticut-town-tests-pandemic-drone-detect-fevers-experts-question-if-n1189546">test people for fevers</a>, it’s time to think about how many eyes are in the sky and how to avoid unwanted aerial surveillance. One way that’s within reach of nearly everyone is learning how to simply disappear from view.</p>
<h2>Crowded skies</h2>
<p>Over the past decade there’s been an explosion in the public’s use of drones – everyday people with everyday tech doing <a href="https://digital.sandiego.edu/gdl2016report/1/">interesting things</a>. As drones enter already-crowded airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration is <a href="https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2020.1453">struggling to respond</a>. The near future is likely to see even more of these devices in the sky, flown by an ever-growing cast of social, political and economic actors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="small drone over a city street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349265/original/file-20200723-37-1iy93ky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A law enforcement drone flew over demonstrators, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Atlanta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/America-Protest-Atlanta/db14ae07df09454398c3fb94439453a4/16/0">AP Photo/Mike Stewart</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public opinion about the use and spread of drones is still <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-shoot-that-drone-overhead-probably-isnt-invading-your-privacy-114701">up in the air</a>, but burgeoning drone use has sparked numerous efforts to curtail drones. These responses range from public policies exerting community control over local airspace, to the development of sophisticated jamming equipment and tactics for knocking drones out of the sky. </p>
<p>From startups to major defense contractors, there is a scramble to deny airspace to drones, to hijack drones digitally, to control drones physically and to shoot drones down. Anti-drone measures range from simple blunt force, <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/drones/how-to/a16756/how-to-shoot-down-a-drone/">10-gauge shotguns</a>, to the poetic: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/01/trained-eagle-destroys-drone-in-dutch-police-video/">well-trained hawks</a>. </p>
<p>Many of these anti-drone measures are expensive and complicated. Some are illegal. The most affordable – and legal – way to avoid drone technology is <a href="http://www.dronesurvivalguide.org/">hiding</a>.</p>
<h2>How to disappear</h2>
<p>The first thing you can do to hide from a drone is to take advantage of the natural and built environment. It’s possible to wait for bad weather, since smaller devices like those used by local police have a hard time flying in high winds, dense fogs and heavy rains. </p>
<p>Trees, walls, alcoves and tunnels are more reliable than the weather, and they offer shelter from the high-flying drones used by the Department of Homeland Security.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Silhouettes of drones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349245/original/file-20200723-33-16zsn27.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In some parts of the world, hiding from drones is a matter of life and death.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.dronesurvivalguide.org/">Drone Survival Guide</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second thing you can do is minimize your digital footprints. It’s smart to avoid using wireless devices like mobile phones or GPS systems, since they have digital signatures that can reveal your location. This is useful for evading drones, but is also important for avoiding other privacy-invading technologies.</p>
<p>The third thing you can do is confuse a drone. Placing mirrors on the ground, standing over broken glass, and wearing elaborate headgear, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/04/anti-surveillance-clothing-facial-recognition-hyperface">machine-readable blankets</a> or <a href="https://projectkovr.com/">sensor-jamming jackets</a> can break up and distort the image a drone sees. </p>
<p>Mannequins and other forms of mimicry can confuse both on-board sensors and the analysts charged with monitoring the drone’s video and sensor feeds. </p>
<p>Drones equipped with infrared sensors will see right through the mannequin trick, but are confused by tactics that mask the body’s temperature. For example, a space blanket will mask significant amounts of the body’s heat, as will simply hiding in an area that matches the body’s temperature, like a building or sidewalk exhaust vent.</p>
<p>The fourth, and most practical, thing you can do to protect yourself from drone surveillance is to get a disguise. The growth of mass surveillance has led to an explosion in creative experiments meant to mask one’s identity. But some of the smartest ideas are decidedly old-school and low-tech. Clothing is the first choice, because hats, glasses, masks and scarves go a long way toward scrambling drone-based facial-recognition software. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Facial makeup chart" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349271/original/file-20200723-33-2y6x6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=651&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Clever use of makeup can thwart facial recognition systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbullas/4591293468/">John C Bullas BSc MSc PhD MCIHT MIAT/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Your gait is as unique as your fingerprint. As gait-recognition software evolves, it will be important to also mask the key pivot points used in identifying the walker. It may be that the best response is affecting a limp, using a minor leg brace or wearing extremely loose clothing.</p>
<p>Artists and scientists have taken these approaches a step further, developing a <a href="https://weburbanist.com/2013/04/01/stealth-wear-counter-surveillance-fashion-protects-privacy/">hoodie wrap</a> that’s intended to shield the owner’s heat signature and to scramble facial recognition software, and <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-facial-recognition-blocking-glasses-privacy-20200417-isy77jwrsncoholhndmyifadr4-story.html">glasses</a> intended to foil facial recognition systems. </p>
<h2>Keep an umbrella handy</h2>
<p>These innovations are alluring, but umbrellas may prove to be the most ubiquitous and robust tactic in this list. They’re affordable, easy to carry, hard to see around and can be disposed of in a hurry. Plus you can build a <a href="http://survival.sentientcity.net/umbrella.html">high-tech one</a>, if you want.</p>
<p>It would be nice to live in a world with fewer impositions on privacy, one in which law enforcement did not use small quadcopters and the Department of Homeland Security did not redeploy large Predator drones to surveil protesters. And, for people in some parts of the world, it would be nice not to associate the sound of a drone with impending missile fire. But given that those eyes are in the sky, it’s good to know how to hide. </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/good-drone">The Good Drone: How Social Movements Democratize Surveillance</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick has previously won an industry award from drone manufacturer DJI, and his work has been supported through the National Science Foundation. MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Avoiding drones’ prying eyes can be as complicated as donning a high-tech hoodie and as simple as ducking under a tree.
Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, Associate Professor of Political Sociology, University of San Diego
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/141764
2020-07-02T12:27:42Z
2020-07-02T12:27:42Z
Why ‘I was just being sarcastic’ can be such a convenient excuse
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345103/original/file-20200701-159785-mvvnbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=69%2C96%2C3503%2C2281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oh come on, you could tell it was sarcasm ... right?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Canvassing/542b128d592b4c64a00191f13f1362a2/15/0">AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After President Donald Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/476068bd60e9048303b736e9d7fc6572">said</a> during a rally in June 2021 that increased testing was responsible for the surging number of infections, the condemnation of the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-cb-trump-tulsa-rally-fact-check-20200621-ufzitovasrgcpkj3aybed3stfe-story.html">inaccurate claim</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/21/coronavirus-live-updates-us/">was swift</a>. </p>
<p>Six days later, during a Fox News town hall, Sean Hannity asked Trump about those remarks on increased testing. </p>
<p>“Sometimes I jokingly say, or sarcastically say, if we didn’t do tests we would look great,” he replied. </p>
<p>This seems to be a pattern. Two months earlier, the president had mused about the beneficial effects of injecting disinfectants into the body to combat COVID-19. After many health officials expressed their dismay, Trump <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2020/04/24/trump-now-claims-sarcasm-on-disinfectant-and-injections-comments/">repeatedly claimed that he was just being sarcastic</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1253755048934375426"}"></div></p>
<p>That same month, after he misspelled “Nobel Prize” in a tweet – writing it out as “Noble Prize” – <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-twitter-nobel-prize-biden-deepfake-coronavirus-a9485251.html">he deleted the tweet</a> before falling back on on a familiar excuse: sarcasm.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1254544354603143168"}"></div></p>
<p>What is it about sarcasm that makes it such a convenient excuse for people who are trying to distance themselves from what they’ve said?</p>
<p>As I describe in <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/irony-and-sarcasm">my book</a> on irony and sarcasm, most cognitive scientists and other language researchers think of sarcasm as a form of verbal irony. Both ways of speaking involve saying the opposite of what you mean. But the goals of irony and sarcasm are actually different.</p>
<p>For example, if someone slowly intones “What beautiful weather!” on a cold and rainy day, it’s clear they’re speaking ironically about a disappointing state of affairs. In general, irony is used to provide commentary on unexpected and negative outcomes. </p>
<p>Sarcasm, on the other hand, is most frequently used to disparage the actions of other people. If someone tells you that you’re a real genius after you forgot to meet them for an important appointment, they clearly don’t mean that you’re mentally gifted. Simply put, irony is commentary, but sarcasm is criticism.</p>
<p>That seems straightforward enough. But in actual practice, the line between irony and sarcasm is blurry and confusing. Many people assert they are being sarcastic when they are in fact being ironic, as in the previous example of the weather.</p>
<p>The enlargement of the domain of sarcasm – at irony’s expense – is a linguistic shift that has been going on for some time. In fact, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg <a href="https://books.google.com/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=oEliAAAAMAAJ&dq=the+way+we+talk+now+nunberg&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=irony%27s+moving+out">called attention to this phenomenon 20 years ago</a>. So it’s hard to fault the president for conflating the two.</p>
<p>Another element that makes sarcasm tricky to grasp has to do with saying the opposite of what is meant. The recipient of such a statement isn’t supposed to take it literally.</p>
<p>For this reason, when we use verbal irony or sarcasm, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005120109296">we might employ cues to signal our nonliteral intent</a>. We may, for example, speak in a tone of voice that’s slower, lower and louder than how we speak normally. Our pitch may swoop up or down. Ironic statements are also frequently accompanied by facial displays, such as a smirk or the rolling of the eyes.</p>
<p>And that’s why, when being sarcastic over text or email, we’ll <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-sarcasm-so-difficult-to-detect-in-texts-and-emails-91892">use emojis to relay nonliteral intent</a>. Of course, even then, there’s no guarantee that the recipient will interpret the message correctly.</p>
<p>President Trump does, at times, clearly make use of sarcasm. For example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_LqxeDEEk">at a December 2019 rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania</a>, he said, referring to the House’s imminent decision to initiate impeachment proceedings, that the Democrats “also understand poll numbers, but I’m sure that had nothing to do with it.” He signals sarcasm by using absolute words like “sure” and “nothing” and by gesturing broadly with both hands. He also pauses to give his audience a moment to interpret his remark as the opposite of what he has said – that, in fact, “my high poll numbers have everything to do with impeachment.” The remark is sarcastic because there’s a clear target: the Democrats in Congress.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tz_LqxeDEEk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trump gets sarcastic during his Dec. 10, 2019 rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But at both the Tulsa rally and his April press conference, the president’s controversial remarks didn’t have such accompanying verbal and nonverbal cues. He wasn’t being critical of anyone; he was simply asserting that testing leads to more infections, or asking what appeared to be sincere questions about the use of disinfectants to combat the virus. Chances are he literally meant what he said. </p>
<p>[<em>Science, politics, religion or just plain interesting articles:</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-checkoutweekly">Check out The Conversation’s weekly newsletters</a>.]</p>
<p>As the president has repeatedly demonstrated, a claim of intended sarcasm can be used to walk back a remark that has been criticized or otherwise fallen flat. Thanks to our slippery understanding of the term, along with the way sarcasm can be easily missed, it can function like a “Get Out of Jail Free” card: The speaker can take a conversational mulligan and try to make things right.</p>
<p>We’ve all said things that we later regretted and appealed to “just kidding” or “I was being sarcastic.” However, if we habitually reach for such excuses to absolve ourselves of linguistic sins, it becomes, like the little boy who cried wolf, less and less effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141764/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger J. Kreuz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Because sarcasm is often difficult to discern and improperly used, it can operate as a linguistic mulligan. But deploy the excuse too much, and you might raise some eyebrows.
Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127076
2019-11-27T13:47:08Z
2019-11-27T13:47:08Z
5 ways Trump and his supporters are using the same strategies as science deniers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303578/original/file-20191125-74576-qj4kwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Donald Trump, during a meeting in the cabinet room at the White House, Washington, Nov. 22, 2019.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump/9ba664f8ccd542958711ece4c7f5736a/32/0">AP/Susan Walsh</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While watching the House impeachment hearings, I realized my two decades of research into why people ignore, reject or deny science had a political parallel.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/creationism-whistleblower-academic-freedom-is-sneak-attack-on-evolution">anti-evolutionists</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/opinions/vaccine-hesitancy-opinion-parikh/index.html">anti-vaccine advocates, known as “anti-vaxxers,”</a> <a href="https://qz.com/1726232/the-three-types-of-climate-change-denial/">climate change deniers</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html">Flat Earthers</a>, science deniers all follow a common pattern of faulty reasoning that allows them to reject what they don’t want to believe – and accept what they favor – based on a misunderstanding of how science deals with evidence. </p>
<p>As I’ve been watching the hearings, I’ve noticed that a number of characteristics of this type of reasoning are now being embraced by President Donald Trump and his congressional supporters.</p>
<h2>Characteristic acts</h2>
<p>There are five common tactics used by science deniers. </p>
<p>In 1998, brothers Mark and Chris Hoofnagle (a lawyer and a physiologist) wrote an early <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/denialism/about">blog post</a> about science denialism. That was followed by further work by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/19/1/2/463780">econometrician Pascal Diethelm and public health scholar Martin McKee</a> and cognitive scientists <a href="https://skepticalscience.com/5-characteristics-of-scientific-denialism.html">John Cook</a> and <a href="https://skepticalscience.com/docs/Debunking_Handbook.pdf">Stephan Lewandowsky</a>. All identified the following factors as characteristic acts of science deniers: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Believing in conspiracy theories;</p></li>
<li><p>Relying on cherry-picked evidence;</p></li>
<li><p>Relying on fake experts (and dismissal of actual experts);</p></li>
<li><p>Committing logical errors;</p></li>
<li><p>Setting impossible standards for what science should be able to deliver. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These elements are present when those who deny the Earth is round or who <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html">believe vaccines cause autism</a> insist that there is a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/10/the-facts-about-vaccines-autism-and-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-conspiracy-theory/">governmental cover-up</a> of the real evidence on their topics. They can be seen when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/24/ted-cruz-says-satellite-data-show-the-globe-isnt-warming-this-satellite-scientist-feels-otherwise/">Ted Cruz tries to discredit climate change</a> with talk about the anomalous world weather pattern in 1998 due to El Niño. And they’re evident when <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2010/11/michael_behe_defends_intellige.html">intelligent design theorists</a> complain that evolution by natural selection still has not been proven.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303577/original/file-20191125-74576-vsijiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of Trump’s most prominent supporters, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing, Nov. 20, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Impeachment/5e68e850a9fe4560b3b0fa04ff9a84eb/31/0">AP/Samuel Corum via Pool</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Alternative reality</h2>
<p>Trump and his defenders in Congress <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/impeachment-trump-factcheck.html">echo this pattern</a>. Even though Trump has firsthand knowledge of some of the facts under dispute – whereas his supporters may not – all seem to have bought in fully to the idea that the actual political situation is not the one pictured in the mainstream consensus of facts and evidence, but instead is based on an alternative reality. </p>
<p>Here are the five ways Trump and his allies use the same strategies as science deniers:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Conspiracy theories: During his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dueling-narratives-separated-by-a-polarized-media-collide-at-first-public-impeachment-hearing/2019/11/13/2f6dccac-0643-11ea-8292-c46ee8cb3dce_story.html">questioning of Ambassador Bill Taylor</a> and other witnesses at the impeachment hearings, Republican counsel Steve Castor repeatedly pursued a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/11/13/business/bc-us-trump-debunked-conspiracy-theory.html">debunked</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/08/gop-theory-that-ukraine-set-up-trump/">conspiracy theory</a> involving an alleged plot in which the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/11/13/business/bc-us-trump-debunked-conspiracy-theory.html">Ukrainian government</a> – and not the Russians – interfered with the 2016 presidential election because they were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/a-presidential-loathing-for-ukraine-is-at-the-heart-of-the-impeachment-inquiry/2019/11/02/8280ee60-fcc5-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html">out to get the president</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Cherry-picking: Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified before the House Intelligence Committee <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2019/11/trump-cherry-picks-sondland-testimony/">that President Trump told him</a>, “I want nothing from Ukraine. I want no quid pro quo.” Trump and his supporters focused on this statement as evidence of his innocence, despite the fact that in other testimony by Sondland that day, he said, “Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelensky…Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the president of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/20/trump-ordered-ukraine-quid-pro-quo-through-giuliani-key-witness-sondland-testifies.html">important to the president</a>.”</p></li>
<li><p>Discrediting experts: President Trump has repeatedly – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/impeachment-hearings-live-updates/2019/11/19/c5ea3bba-0a54-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html">and falsely</a> – claimed that State Department and CIA employees such as Bill Taylor, George Kent, Fiona Hill, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alexander-vindman-trump-threaten-smear-campaign-video-2019-11">Alexander Vindman</a> and others who have testified in the impeachment hearings are “Never Trumpers,” a term for Republicans who do not support Trump – and who <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/11/trump-attack-vindman-yovanovitch-hill/602383/">therefore have no credibility</a>. His <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/attacking-witnesses-is-trumps-core-defense-strategy-in-fighting-impeachment/2019/11/18/6ad8e660-07e1-11ea-8ac0-0810ed197c7e_story.html">supporters have latched onto this tactic</a>. GOP Sen. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/18/defenses-trumps-allies-have-floated-ukraine-impeachment/">Josh Hawley of Missouri said</a> on Sept. 20, after the whistleblower complaint was made public: “It looks to me like another deep-state attack.” </p></li>
<li><p>Illogical reasoning: Trump supporters have claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-10/ukraine-zelensky-trump-impeachment">Zelensky never complained that he felt pressured</a> by Trump to do the investigations into the Bidens that Trump sought. Trump himself has described the July 25 conversation he had with Zelensky in which he asked for the investigations as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lt-col-alexander-vindman-reveals-in-testimony-that-he-told-an-intelligence-official-about-trumps-call-with-ukrainian-leader/2019/11/19/61c46b16-0ae4-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html">perfect</a>.” But news reports have shown that <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ap-sources-ukraines-zelensky-was-feeling-pressure-from-trump-administration">Zelensky did in fact feel pressured</a>, and analysts have pointed out that <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/12/20961073/trump-impeachment-hearings-republican-testimony-strategy">Zelensky would risk losing crucial U.S. support</a> were he to anger Trump by saying that he felt pressured. </p></li>
<li><p>Double standard for opponents: Trump claimed that written testimony from the whistleblower was unacceptable, despite the fact that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/trump-who-gave-written-answers-mueller-decries-written-answers-whistleblower-n1075981">he himself had only given written testimony</a> in the Mueller investigation. Some of his supporters seem to agree and have tried <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/470242-gop-motions-to-subpoena-whistleblower">to compel the whistleblower’s in-person testimony</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303579/original/file-20191125-74576-19eujlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has said ‘I don’t care what anybody else says about the phone call … The phone call, I’ve made up my own mind, is fine.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Baghdadi/5f5d9367e6f9482a8dafabf39690fed0/25/0">AP/Andrew Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Partisan logic</h2>
<p>What might be behind the similarities between Trump defenders and science deniers?</p>
<p>Perhaps, like science denial, all fact denial is basically the same. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-denial-versus-science-pleasure/">All ideology</a> supports the reflex to believe what you want to believe.</p>
<p>Scholars have studied the <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631493614">role of identity</a> in shaping belief and concluded that sometimes even <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-total-exoneration-to-impeach-now-the-mueller-report-and-dueling-fact-perceptions-116488">empirical beliefs can be tribal</a>, reflecting what the other people on your team want you to believe. Adherence to a belief is not always based on evidence.</p>
<p>The danger, of course, is that even as new facts come in, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/13/trump-impeachment-hearing-change-mind-congress-070145">people won’t change their minds</a>. This is the direct opposite of good empirical reasoning. </p>
<p>It is the hallmark of science that beliefs should be based on evidence, and that people should be <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/07/author-discusses-new-book-defending-and-explaining-science">willing to change their beliefs based on new evidence</a>. This means that people should be able to specify in advance what evidence, if it existed, would be sufficient to get them to change their minds. </p>
<p>But are Trump and his congressional supporters doing that?</p>
<p>Like science deniers, no amount of evidence seems sufficient to change their partisan beliefs that the phone call with Zelensky was proper and that Trump “<a href="https://apnews.com/85e2ff2477314800bab722c3a2f3b92d">did nothing wrong</a>.” </p>
<p>Even when the facts are overwhelming, congressional Republicans seem, like science deniers, willing to contort their beliefs and torture their logic, to stick to the party line because that is who they are.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/06/lindsey-graham-wont-read-testimony-sham-impeachment-process/4175643002/">As Sen. Lindsey Graham recently put it</a>, “I don’t care what anybody else says about the phone call … The phone call, I’ve made up my own mind, is fine.” </p>
<p>In science, such behavior means that one is eventually read out of the profession – you’re not fired, your tenure isn’t revoked, but you’re no longer taken seriously anymore. </p>
<p>In politics, it is not yet clear what the consequences might be.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Lee McIntyre is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/scientific-attitude">The Scientific Attitude</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p>
<p>[ <em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee McIntyre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
President Donald Trump and his supporters exhibit the methods of science deniers. Like anti-evolutionists and flat-earthers, they reject what they don’t want to believe and accept what they favor.
Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow, Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127398
2019-11-26T16:07:48Z
2019-11-26T16:07:48Z
Your big brain makes you human – count your neurons when you count your blessings
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303790/original/file-20191126-112531-8ucpjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C350%2C3101%2C1904&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's these brain cells that really make humans unique.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/various-types-brain-cells-seamless-doodle-387830680">anyaivanova/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Here’s something new to consider being thankful for at Thanksgiving: the long evolutionary journey that gave you your big brain and your long life. </p>
<p>Courtesy of our <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/human-advantage-1">primate ancestors that invented cooking over a million years ago</a>, you are a member of the one species able to afford <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain?language=en">so many cortical neurons in its brain</a>. With them come the <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/lifespan-and-sexual-maturity-depends-on-your-brain-more-than-your-body">extended childhood and the pushing century-long lifespan</a> that together make human beings unique.</p>
<p>All these bequests of your bigger brain cortex mean you can gather four generations around a meal to exchange banter and gossip, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvSA1qhBq4M">turn information into knowledge</a> and even practice the art of what-not-to-say-when.</p>
<p>You may even want to be thankful for another achievement of our neuron-crammed human cortices: <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/human-advantage-1">all the technology</a> that allows people spread over the globe to come together in person, on screens, or through words whispered directly into your ears long distance.</p>
<p>I know I am thankful. But then, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cldyZo8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I’m the one</a> proposing that we humans <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.06.001">revise the way we tell the story</a> of how our species came to be. </p>
<h2>Brains made of cells, but how many?</h2>
<p>Back when I had just received my freshly minted Ph.D. in neuroscience and started working in science communication, I found out that 6 in 10 college-educated people believed they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/107385840200800206">only used 10% of their brains</a>. I’m glad to say that they’re wrong: We use all of it, just in different ways at different times.</p>
<p>The myth seemed to be supported by statements in serious textbooks and scientific articles that “the <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/how-many-neurons-are-in-the-brain-2794889">human brain is made of 100 billion neurons</a> and 10 times as many supporting glial cells.” I wondered if those numbers were facts or guesses. Did anyone actually know that those were the <a href="https://news.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmagazine/brainiac-with-her-innovative-brain-soup-suzana-herculano-houzel-is-changing-neuroscience-one-species-at-a-time/">numbers of cells in the human brain</a>?</p>
<p>No, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24040">they didn’t</a>.</p>
<p>Neuroscientists did have a rough idea. Some estimates suggested 10 to 20 billion neurons for the human cerebral cortex, others some 60 to 80 billion in another region called the cerebellum. With the rest of the brain known to be fairly sparse in comparison, the number of neurons in the whole human brain was definitely closer to 100 billion than to just 10 billion (far too little) or 1 trillion (way too many).</p>
<p>But there we were, neuroscientists armed with fancy tools to modify genes and light up parts of the brain, still in the dark about what different brains were made of and how the human brain compared to others.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303755/original/file-20191126-112526-hy3her.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slicing up different animals’ brains – like this one from an elephant – is the first step.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Suzana Herculano-Houzel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Counting up neurons in brain soup</h2>
<p>So I devised a way to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4526-04.2005">easily and rapidly count</a> how many cells a brain is made of. I <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/437413">spent 15 years collecting brains</a> and then turning them into soup that I examined under the microscope. That’s how I got the hard numbers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303759/original/file-20191126-112512-1yynyg6.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elephant brain is bigger than a human one, but its number of cortical neurons is smaller.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.09.031.2009">Drawings by Lorena Kaz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As it turned out, there are many ways to put brains together: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1201895109">Primates like us have more neurons in the cerebral cortex</a> than most other mammals, no matter the size of the brain. A brain can be large but made of relatively few neurons if those neurons are huge, like in an elephant; primate neurons are small, and bird neurons are even tinier, so even the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1517131113">smallest bird brains can hide lots of neurons</a>. But never as many as the largest primate brain: ours. </p>
<p>When comparing brains, we care about numbers of neurons in the cortex because it’s the area of the brain that lets us go beyond the simple detection and response to stimuli, allowing us to learn from the past and make plans for the future.</p>
<p>Because neurons are the Lego pieces that build brains and process information, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.02.004">more cortical neurons a species has</a>, the more flexible and complex that species’ cognition can be, regardless of size. And not just that: I recently found that the more cortical neurons, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24564">longer the species takes to develop into adulthood</a>, just like it takes longer to assemble a truckload of Legos into a mansion than a handful into a little house. And for as yet unknown reasons, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24564">along with more cortical neurons comes a longer life</a>.</p>
<p>Getting more cortical neurons thus seems to be a two-for-one bargain: Buy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.06.001">more mental capabilities, and along comes more lifetime</a> to learn to use them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303766/original/file-20191126-112517-1fwokgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No more rough estimates. The average male human brain contains 86 billion neurons and 85 billion non-neuronal cells.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Suzana Herculano-Houzel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Powering all those neurons</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017514">Lots more neurons cost lots more energy</a>, though. </p>
<p>If people had kept exclusively eating raw foods, like all other primates do, they would need to spend <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1206390109">over nine hours every single day</a> searching, collecting, picking and eating to feed their <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.09.031.2009">16 billion cortical neurons</a>. Forget about discovering electricity or building airplanes. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1853">There would be no time</a> for looking at the stars and wondering about what could be. Our great ape cousins, ever the raw foodies, still have at most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000322729">half as many cortical neurons as we do</a> – and they eat over eight hours per day.</p>
<p>But our ancestors figured out how to cheat nature to get more from less, first with stone tools and later with fire. They invented cooking and <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/richard-wrangham/catching-fire/9780786744787/">changed human history</a>. Eating is faster and much more efficient, not to say <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.03.003">delicious</a>, when food is pre-processed and transformed with fire.</p>
<p>With plenty of calories available in much less time, new generations gained bigger and bigger brains. And the more cortical neurons they had, the longer kids remained kids, the longer their parents lived, and the more the former could learn from the latter, then from grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Cultures soon flourished. Technology bloomed and lived on through schooling and science, becoming ever more complex.</p>
<p>With so much culture to share, what makes us modern humans has become about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.06.001">much more than our human biology</a>. Being born with lots of neurons gives us the potential for a long and slow life, one where each of our brains gets a chance to be educated by what the generations before us have learned, and to educate the next ones. We will remain modern humans so long as we are willing to convene around dinner tables to celebrate our differences and to share our hard-earned knowledge, stories of success and failure, our hopes and dreams. </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Suzana Herculano-Houzel is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/human-advantage-1">The Human Advantage: How Our Brains Became Remarkable</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127398/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzana Herculano-Houzel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We have more neurons in our cortices than any other species, courtesy of an early technology – and along with them came our long, slow lives, with plenty of chances to gather around the dinner table.
Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Associate Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/121686
2019-08-23T12:28:31Z
2019-08-23T12:28:31Z
Removing mini-shampoos from hotel rooms won’t save the environment
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288070/original/file-20190814-136213-1ugcr00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The movement to ban miniature toiletries isn't likely to make a dent in the global plastic crisis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch#/media/File:Litter_on_Singapore's_East_Coast_Park.jpg">vaidehi shah/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>InterContinental Hotels Group <a href="https://www.ihgplc.com/en/news-and-media/news-releases/2019/end-of-the-road-for-bathroom-miniatures-as-ihg-opts-for-bulk-size--amenities-to-reduce-plastic-waste">will replace</a> mini-shampoos and conditioners with possibly more efficient bulk products <a href="https://apnews.com/da7268c03bf14f77b3bac115b8c35a6a">by the year 2021</a>. <a href="https://www.marriott.com/Multimedia/PDF/CorporateResponsibility/Environmental_Public_Policy_Statement.pdf">Marriott Hotels</a> recently <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/marriott-banning-little-shampoo-bottles-by-2020-2019-08-28?mod=mw_latestnews">followed suit</a>, vowing to ban miniature toiletries <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/marriott-banning-tiny-shampoo-bottles-by-2020">by next year</a>.</p>
<p>But environmental activists <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dropping-mini-shampoo-bottles-is-another-feel-good-move-that-like-banning-plastic-straws-does-little-environmental-good-2019-08-28">shouldn’t rejoice just yet</a>.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.ihgplc.com/en/news-and-media/news-releases/2019/end-of-the-road-for-bathroom-miniatures-as-ihg-opts-for-bulk-size--amenities-to-reduce-plastic-waste">announcements</a> are yet another example – such as <a href="https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/regulation/plastic-bans-are-symbolism-over-substance/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIreTtudaF5AIVyB6GCh2gYAdWEAAYASAAEgI24PD_BwE">banning plastic straws</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/20/greenwashing-environmentalism-lies-companies">false sustainability claims</a> and <a href="https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2016/sep/0914-renewable-energy.html">corporate commitments that are far in the future</a> – that seem to be more of a PR exercise than real attempts to move the needle.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://sheffi.mit.edu/">professor of engineering</a> and the director of the <a href="https://ctl.mit.edu/">MIT Center of Transportation and Logistics</a>. As I argue in my book “<a href="https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B07BRDZWZH&tag=bing08-20&linkCode=kpp&reshareId=4AGJZZQRWYJSDW8GK41R&reshareChannel=system">Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business</a> (And When Not To),” announcements of these kinds distract us from legitimate – and more challenging – measures we need to put in place to avoid environmental catastrophe.</p>
<h2>Behind the headlines</h2>
<p>InterContinental Hotels Group <a href="https://www.ihgplc.com/about-us/our-leadership/executive-committee/keith-barr">CEO Keith Barr</a> says that replacing miniature bathroom products “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/holiday-inn-will-stop-providing-mini-plastic-toiletries-to-help-save-the-oceans/">will allow us to significantly reduce our waste footprint and environmental impact</a>” at the conglomerate’s hotel chains, which include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.</p>
<p>It’s true that the <a href="https://cleanconscience.org.uk/">British foundation Clear Conscience</a> estimates that 200 million travel-size toiletries end up in U.K. landfills every year, but there’s another motivation: With <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ihg-hotel-shampoo-bottles-plastic-waste_n_5d41d2d2e4b0db8affb27022">5,600 hotels</a>, the savings for IHG can mount to over US$11 million annually.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://sheffi.mit.edu/book/balancing-green">studies</a> we have carried out at MIT and <a href="https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/supply-chain">elsewhere</a> show that evaluations of a product’s environmental impact can mislead if economists don’t consider <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/supplychain.asp">the entire supply chain management process</a>.</p>
<p>For example, most of the carbon footprint of companies like <a href="https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2019.pdf">Apple</a>, <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/environment/carbon">Microsoft</a> and <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collaboration/carbon-disclosure-project-cdp.html">Cisco</a> comes from the suppliers who actually make the iPhones, routers and Xboxes, not directly from the company itself.</p>
<p>Additionally, the net reduction in discarded plastic could be minimal at best if the larger containers are filled from <a href="https://careertrend.com/13369891/how-to-refill-soap-dispensers">single-use plastic pouches</a>. Also, we do not yet know if the larger containers are recyclable, nor the cost and environmental impacts of making, transporting, installing and maintaining them.</p>
<p>Even if replacing miniature toiletries does reduce waste somewhat – as other hotel chains <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-travel-briefcase-hotel-shampoo-bottles-20180505-story.html">join the movement</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-lawmakers-want-to-ban-hotel-shampoo-bottles-20190529-story.html">California moves to ban</a> them – a transition to bulk products will barely put a dent in the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/environment/an-ocean-of-plastic/2686/">plastic waste that now clogs</a> the planet’s rivers and oceans. It is another “feel good” initiative which help avoid the move to more serious actions that can actually make a difference.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-plastic-straws-being-banned-2018-7">Banning plastic straws</a> is another such example. While outlawing plastic straws makes for excellent public relations copy, <a href="https://earth.stanford.edu/news/do-plastic-straws-really-make-difference#gs.w3g0xj">it has virtually no impact</a> on the <a href="https://apnews.com/c1b6f8666138441d9af6054d8c096086">global accumulation of plastic garbage</a>.</p>
<h2>Skin-deep support</h2>
<p>At least the hotel chains are responding to consumers’ <a href="https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/73-percent-of-millennials-are-willing-to-spend-more-money-on-this-1-type-of-product.html">professed increasing support</a> for green products and services, right?</p>
<p>Some studies find that more than 80% of consumers say they <a href="https://sustainablebrands.com/read/stakeholder-trends-and-insights/study-81-of-consumers-say-they-will-make-personal-sacrifices-to-address-social-environmental-issues">will make personal sacrifices</a> to address social and environmental issues. However, when actually buying goods, <a href="https://consciouscompanymedia.com/sustainable-business/marketing/5-reasons-millennials-dont-buy-green-brands-better-way-reach/">consumer support</a> for environmental products <a href="https://consciouscompanymedia.com/sustainable-business/marketing/5-reasons-millennials-dont-buy-green-brands-better-way-reach/">largely evaporates</a>.</p>
<p>To try to explain the gap between what people say and how much they’re willing to pay, my students and I observed <a href="https://sheffi.mit.edu/sites/sheffi.mit.edu/files/2019-08/Consumers%27%20%28not%20so%29%20Green%20Purchase%20Behavior.pdf">consumers’ choices in supermarkets in Boston</a>.</p>
<p>These supermarkets presented sustainable choices in large green frames around the sustainable products – detergents, soaps, paper products and others – alongside “regular” products in the same aisle. Fewer than 10% of consumers chose the sustainable products, though the study found somewhat higher percentages among highly educated and higher income consumers. The sustainable products were, by and large, between 5% and 7% more expensive.</p>
<p>Given customer ambivalence toward paying for green products, companies engage in token measures that insulate them from <a href="https://brandfinance.com/news/press-releases/vw-risks-its-31-billion-brand-and-germanys-national-reputation/">reputational damage</a> and the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40423794/new-greenpeace-campaign-accuses-corporations-of-using-law-suits-to-silence-protest">unwanted attention of environmental groups</a>, which could lead to NGO and media complaints or <a href="https://theconversation.com/boycotts-are-a-crucial-weapon-to-fight-environment-harming-firms-25267">consumer boycotts</a> and lost sales.</p>
<p>Beyond that, brands will reclassify economically sensible cost-cutting initiatives, <a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/11/timberland-bassett-cut-costs-emissions-with-led-lighting-retrofits/">such as energy savings</a>, as sustainability initiatives.</p>
<p>One good way to green hotels is to restrict hotels’ use of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/science/air-conditioner-global-warming.html">energy-thirsty air conditioning</a>. Another is to charge guests for not reusing towels rather than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-you-should-reuse-hotel-towels-2015-8/">imploring them to reuse these items</a>.</p>
<p>Granted, a slogan that states “Our hotel will not keep rooms cooler than 75 degrees in the summer and no warmer than 65 degrees in the winter” may not increase a hotel’s market share. Even the replacement of the small shampoo bottles with bulk dispensers is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-those-tiny-shampoo-bottles-1525180702">leading to consumers’ apprehension</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287432/original/file-20190808-144892-9dz6ln.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">InterContinental Hotels Group is considering flushing their mini-toiletries down the drain and replacing them with bulk items.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU2NTMyNjYwMCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTE2MDgzOTA0MiIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTYwODM5MDQyL2h1Z2UuanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCI4cVRnSzI2aTlvUUswWXAxei9sTjVoTjdLVmsiXQ%2Fshutterstock_1160839042.jpg&pi=33421636&m=1160839042&src=ldRFINzZpVokhiHAwKxO6w-1-0">KR_Netez/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Futile gestures</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most damaging fallout from symbolic corporate green “feel-good” initiatives is that they distract from actions that can make a difference.</p>
<p>More specifically, companies could focus their efforts on <a href="https://qz.com/1416481/the-ultimate-guide-to-negative-emission-technologies/">carbon-reducing technology</a>. No existing technologies are available on a global scale, but a small example of such a successful international agreement is the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/international-actions-montreal-protocol-substances-deplete-ozone-layer">Montreal Protocol</a> to ban substances that deplete the ozone layer.</p>
<p>Governments could implement adaptation measures for the changing climate such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/climate/seawalls-cities-cost-climate-change.html?login=email&auth=login-email">building sea walls</a> on vulnerable coastlines, planning for <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/07/25/climate-change-food-production-global-warming">changes in food production patterns</a> and the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/climate-change-already-driving-mass-migration-around-globe">massive migration that may follow</a>. An example of a comprehensive adaption strategy is <a href="https://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/PBL-2015-Adaptation-to-climage-change-1632.pdf">the work of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency</a>.</p>
<p>In a world where companies engage in tokenism to satisfy their customers’ false green preferences, the efforts by Marriott and InterContinental are perfectly acceptable. But that world is likely to be short-lived.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Yossi Sheffi is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B07BRDZWZH&tag=bing08-20&linkCode=kpp&reshareId=4AGJZZQRWYJSDW8GK41R&reshareChannel=system">Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business (And When Not To)</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on Aug. 23, 2019.</em></p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
InterContinental Hotels Group plans to switch miniature toiletries for bulk products, but it isn’t likely to do as much for the environment as activists might think.
Yossi Sheffi, Professor of Engineering; Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120955
2019-07-25T01:06:32Z
2019-07-25T01:06:32Z
The Mueller hearing and the death of facts
<p>Listening to former <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/mueller-testimony-congress-live/2019/07/24/d51a82d6-aca1-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html">special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony</a> on July 24, the nation heard a duel over the facts. </p>
<p>Not what the facts imply, not our response to them, but what the facts are. </p>
<p>Founding Father John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” </p>
<p>But this is no longer Adams’ America, where facts were unalterable.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.leemcintyrebooks.com/lee.php">scholar of philosophy</a> and what I call the <a href="https://www.leemcintyrebooks.com/post-truth.php">“post-truth” era</a>, I believe <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/mueller-testimony-congress-live/2019/07/24/d51a82d6-aca1-11e9-bc5c-e73b603e7f38_story.html">Mueller’s testimony shows</a> that at least in the political world, “alternative facts” have replaced actual facts and feelings have more weight than evidence.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285641/original/file-20190724-110175-723di7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, questions Mueller.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Russia-Probe/0dacee9a68b64214b2916a3d49efc013/24/0">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Competing dreams</h2>
<p>It has been established that <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/10/21/17-intelligence-agencies-russia-behind-hacking/92514592/">the Russians hacked the 2016 presidential election</a>. That is one of the few generally accepted facts to emerge from the Mueller investigation.</p>
<p>But did President Trump invite or otherwise cooperate with this interference? And, once an investigation into these questions was taken up by <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sco">Mueller’s Office of Special Counsel</a>, did the president attempt to interfere with it? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-want-mueller-tell-swing-voters-what-trump-did-wrong-n1032501">The dream for Democrats</a> was that, upon hearing the facts directly from Mueller, the American people might finally begin to pay attention and realize that there was incontrovertible evidence that Trump at least obstructed justice in his <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obstruction-of-justice-10-times-trump-may-have-obstructed-justice-mueller-report/">repeated efforts to derail</a> and <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2019/04/debunking-muellers-conflicts/">discredit the special counsel’s investigation</a>. </p>
<p>Even if Mueller did not introduce any new information beyond the confines of his report – <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/07/24/mueller_opening_statement_testimony_limited_to_report_will_not_discuss_steele_dossier_or_fbi_probe.html">which he did not</a> – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/us/politics/mueller-hearings-democrats.html">the hope was</a> that simply by seeing and hearing his report come to life, Americans could finally agree that even if there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Trump conspired with the Russians, the country could at least understand that he threatened, lied, enticed and otherwise interfered with the investigation. It would be like seeing the movie rather than reading the book.</p>
<p>The dream for Republicans was to <a href="https://www.apnews.com/b88a2a9bc3d745439d3f088d2ba783b7">introduce a new set of facts</a>, which <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luuRh6UwAV0">they offered</a> with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/24/gops-questions-mueller-seemed-bizarre-unless-you-watch-fox-news/?utm_term=.4e89087969b1">largely no evidence</a>, seeking to question the integrity of the investigation from the start. They pursued this line relentlessly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285642/original/file-20190724-110154-dyqt9c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trump spoke to reporters after Mueller’s testimony.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2pSVWOXId4">CBS News</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Competing takes</h2>
<p>The problem with facts these days is not that they do not exist. It’s that with a steady stream of propaganda fed to the electorate on a daily basis, the facts are <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-total-exoneration-to-impeach-now-the-mueller-report-and-dueling-fact-perceptions-116488">beholden to your political point of view</a>. </p>
<p>At the break in the Mueller hearings, here were the top three headlines from Fox News:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mueller-flustered-asking-lawmakers-to-repeat-questions-at-hearing">“Mueller flustered, asking lawmakers to repeat questions at tense hearing”</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mueller-friends-with-comey-during-heated-house-hearing">“Mueller admits he was friends with Comey during heated House hearing”</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/heres-how-much-the-mueller-investigation-cost-taxpayers">“Here’s how much the Mueller investigation cost taxpayers”</a></p>
<p>Over at MSNBC, there was an alternate universe:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/mueller-testifies-under-oath-that-his-report-does-not-exonerate-president-trump-64432709750">“Mueller testifies under oath that his report does not exonerate Trump”</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/mueller-president-trump-could-be-criminally-charged-with-obstruction-of-justice-after-he-leaves-office-64441413571">“Mueller: A president could be criminally charged after leaving office”</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/mueller-confirms-trump-asked-staff-to-falsify-records-to-protect-himself-related-to-investigation-64438853740">“Mueller confirms Trump asked staff to falsify records to protect himself”</a></p>
<p>The problem is not that any of these headlines are technically false. It’s that cherry picking what “facts” get reported creates a skewed perception of reality.</p>
<p>In May, Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican (who <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/452261-amash-officially-files-as-independent">became an Independent</a> in July), <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/28/justin-amash-donald-trump-impeachment-town-hall/1260471001/">held a series of town halls</a> on why he favored Trump’s impeachment. Several media outlets <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/mueller-testimony-barr-narrative/594547/">reported</a> one of the attendees didn’t even know what all the fuss was about. </p>
<p>“I was surprised to hear there was anything negative in the Mueller report at all about President Trump,” <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/mueller-testimony-barr-narrative/594547/">Cathy Garnaat said</a>. “I hadn’t heard that before. I’ve mainly listened to conservative news and I hadn’t heard anything negative about that report, and President Trump has been exonerated.” </p>
<p>With polls showing that fewer than 10% of Americans have read any part of Robert Mueller’s report, it’s possible that many rely on news coverage to tell them what it said. Indeed, when the report was released back in April, a poll showed that only “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-want-mueller-tell-swing-voters-what-trump-did-wrong-n1032501">46% of Americans had heard something about the Mueller Report</a>.”</p>
<p>Democrats appear to be nursing the hope that once something happens, people will wake up and care about the facts again. Once the report is released … once people read the report … once Mueller testifies … facts will matter again. </p>
<h2>The death of facts</h2>
<p>But to watch <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republicans-democrats-spin-mueller-testimony-candidates-call-impeachment/story?id=64535060">the spin by both Republicans and Democrats</a> about the hearing – “Republicans and Democrats filtered Robert Mueller’s Capitol Hill testimony through their own prisms Wednesday,” wrote ABC News – one wonders if this is a false hope.</p>
<p>At this point, does it really matter? </p>
<p>Even if the Mueller report had been definitive, some have speculated that <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-total-exoneration-to-impeach-now-the-mueller-report-and-dueling-fact-perceptions-116488">half the country would have rejected it anyway</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps, in order to promote an agenda, you need not offer “alternative facts,” but simply discredit the other side’s fact finders. Or, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/trump-told-lesley-stahl-he-bashes-press-to-discredit-negative-stories.html">as Trump once put it</a> – in response to a question about why he attacks the media so much, “I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.”</p>
<p>Shortly after Mueller concluded his testimony, Trump stepped out onto the South Lawn to talk to reporters.</p>
<p>Once again, he called the Russia investigation a “ridiculous hoax” and a “witch hunt” – after Robert Mueller had explicitly told lawmakers that the Russia investigation was neither a witch hunt nor a hoax. In a final tweet, before departing for a fundraiser in West Virginia, Trump tweeted <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-on-mueller-testimony-there-was-no-defense-to-this-ridiculous-hoax">“TRUTH IS A FORCE OF NATURE.”</a> </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Lee McIntyre is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/post-truth">Post-Truth</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee McIntyre is a registered Democrat. MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
To one scholar of the post-truth era, tuning in to Robert Mueller’s testimony Wednesday was to hear a duel over the facts. Not what the facts imply – but what the facts are.
Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/118235
2019-06-13T12:42:07Z
2019-06-13T12:42:07Z
For some, self-tracking means more than self-help
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278405/original/file-20190606-97989-8c4iw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What does all that data mean to you?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-runner-looking-her-mobile-smart-474486460?src=N_FpbWv4dq80BUhE3wMu6A-1-5">Andrey_Popov/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People who identify with the “<a href="https://quantifiedself.com/">Quantified Self movement</a>” are, as expressed in the movement’s motto, seeking “self-knowledge through self-tracking.” They want to know how to sleep better, stay fit or have a more productive morning. They do this by keeping count of how many times they roll over in the night, how many steps they take in the day or how many emails they respond to in a week.</p>
<p>At their informal gatherings, known as “Show & Tells,” participants speak to three questions: What did you do? How did you do it? And what did you learn?</p>
<p>At the inaugural Quantified Self Show & Tell, in Pacifica, California, in 2008, the first presenter was unsure about what he had learned. <a href="https://quantifiedself.com/blog/but-why/">As Quantified Self co-founder Gary Wolf wrote</a> on the following day, the presenter “had a beautiful graph of his work, sleep and other activity, based on data he had been tracking for three years. And he was at the meeting to get ideas about how to extract more meaning out of it.”</p>
<h2>The psychology of self-tracking</h2>
<p>“Meaning” can mean a few things. </p>
<p>Among those at the first Show & Tell, there was a focus on utility: how to make the data meaningful toward some useful end.</p>
<p>But, for some, the practice of self-tracking is compelling in and of itself. As Wolf himself confessed, “The utility of self-tracking in achieving some specified goal doesn’t fully explain its fascination. There’s a compulsion, a curiosity, that seems to operate in advance of any particular use.”</p>
<p>In <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hacking-life">my research on life hackers</a>, I’ve seen evidence of this thinking, which psychologists speak of as the systematic – or rational or analytical – cognitive style. That’s a disposition in thinking and behavior that seeks patterns and makes use of rules.
Studies have found an association between the rational style and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/BF02940938">computer students</a> and <a href="http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/michaelbacchmaan2010ijcc.pdf">hackers</a>.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, patterns, systems and rules are central to the life hacking ethos, independent of any utility – and sometimes contrary to it, as when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/05/life-hacking-why-self-optimising-can-be-suboptimal">life hackers naively optimize dating yet remain single</a>.</p>
<h1>The efficacy of self-tracking</h1>
<p>There can be benefits in tracking a facet of your life, even if you are not the quantifying type.</p>
<p>There’s abundant evidence that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001953">self-tracking can help ordinary people</a> manage their eating, steps taken, insulin levels and fertility.</p>
<p>Self-tracking can also be distracting and anxiety-making. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-many-women-tracking-their-fertility-can-be-an-emotional-whirlwind-106439">one study showed that fertility-tracking</a> can make women feel burdened, obsessed or trapped.</p>
<p>There is also a lot of confusion and snake oil. One famous self-tracker believed that <a href="http://observer.com/2014/04/seth-roberts-final-column-butter-makes-me-smarter/">eating half a stick a butter a day made him smarter</a> – that is, a bit faster on arbitrary math puzzles. However, that butter might have also contributed to his lethal heart disease. </p>
<p>Patterns can be illusory and the new rules based on them premature.</p>
<h1>One tracker’s story</h1>
<p>The blend of utility and meaning-making among self-trackers is exemplified by someone I first <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGQxFTIjODw">met at a Show & Tell</a> in Boston. </p>
<p>Kay Stoner describes herself as a data hoarder who suffers from headaches. As a teen she kept journals, boxes of which are now in storage. Tracking patterns and developing rules is also how she approached her headaches later in life. She developed an application for recording her symptoms and their context, but eventually settled on a <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=212006">paper-based diary</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGQxFTIjODw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Having a record showed Stoner that she could do things to lessen her headaches and that they do eventually end: “If you’ve got objective data showing you that something [helpful] did happen before, and it might just be possible again, that can nip the depression and sense of helplessness in the bud.”</p>
<p>Having a record also allows her to clearly communicate with her doctors. </p>
<p>Sometimes Stoner’s records of pain and failed remedies are dispiriting. At times she puts them aside. Yet, ultimately, tracking and experimentation are the way she manages pain, finds hope and communicates with others: “Data adds structure, meaning and purpose to my life.”</p>
<h2>Who finds meaning</h2>
<p>What I learned from the many people I encountered is that self-tracking is an ambivalent practice. </p>
<p>Chris Anderson is a former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. He had embraced the Quantified Self and tracking with lots of questions in mind. But he found few answers. In April 2016, <a href="https://twitter.com/chr1sa/status/721198400150966274">he tweeted</a> that “After many years of self-tracking everything (activity, work, sleep) I’ve decided it’s ~pointless. No non-obvious lessons or incentives :(”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"721198400150966274"}"></div></p>
<p>In response to his tweet, some folks defended the practice. They learned which food caused weight gain. Supposedly someone had self-diagnosed a disease missed by professionals. Others simply enjoyed plotting their data. And a few were keeping at it in the hopes that better analytics in the future might yield insights, as if awaiting a revelation.</p>
<p>When Anderson was asked why he had persisted for so long, he tersely responded: “Wanted to believe.” But he was no longer willing to wait.</p>
<p>Self-tracking can be as stressful as it is helpful. It can be illuminating and misleading. Ordinary people ought to approach it with a degree of caution, wary of pricey gadgets and extraordinary claims. Even those who like gadgets ought to be careful of the hype.</p>
<p>But, for a specific personality type, tracking transcends utility. The process itself lends meaning to coping with the uncertainties of life.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Joseph Reagle is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hacking-life">Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
The people who get the most out of self-tracking tend to be ‘systematic thinkers’ who search for meaning in patterns.
Joseph Reagle, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Northeastern University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/118101
2019-06-03T17:10:37Z
2019-06-03T17:10:37Z
Is Robert Mueller an antique? The role of the facts in a post-truth era
<p>In just a little over eight minutes – on the morning of Wednesday, May 29th – the post-truth era came to an end.</p>
<p>Or did it?</p>
<p>That’s when <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-special-counsel.html">Special Counsel Robert Mueller took the podium</a> and addressed only the facts concerning his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-report-sent-to-attorney-general-signaling-his-russia-investigation-has-ended/2019/03/22/b061d8fa-323e-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html">two-year-long investigation into Russian interference</a> in the 2016 presidential election as well as possible collusion and obstruction of justice.</p>
<p>Some might feel that Mueller struck a blow for truth and reality in a world where we are daily surrounded by opinion, spin and commentary. He seemed determined to follow the old rules no matter the madness that surrounded him. </p>
<p>Others, however, might feel that Mueller presented himself more as an antique specimen, and not a particularly useful one at that. How? By refusing to accept the reality that he was giving his address in a world where he knew his statement would be spun, lied about and exploited by others. </p>
<p>What is the role of someone who speaks only of facts in a tornado of partisan bombast? Is it a breath of fresh air? Or an abdication of responsibility to protect the country’s interests?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277689/original/file-20190603-69059-jlgq3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It used to be that lies had the power to shock. Now, facts are the outliers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU1OTYwMzk2MCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMzI2MjQ3NzQ5IiwiayI6InBob3RvLzMyNjI0Nzc0OS9odWdlLmpwZyIsIm0iOjEsImQiOiJzaHV0dGVyc3RvY2stbWVkaWEifSwiQTI0NUM3Q3Rlak5RQ08zczFBR1hleFVBRVFVIl0%2Fshutterstock_326247749.jpg&pi=33421636&m=326247749&src=NNmmW-XRFNEiUm4k74aWag-1-5">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Facts vs post-truth</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.leemcintyrebooks.com/lee.php">I’m a philosopher</a> who studies the rational foundation for belief. In my book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/post-truth">Post-Truth</a>” (MIT Press, 2018), I explore the idea that “post-truth” actually goes far beyond the Oxford dictionaries’ definition of it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” </p>
<p>Instead, I offer the idea that post-truth is more usefully understood as the “political subordination of reality,” in which truth is the first casualty on the road to authoritarianism.</p>
<p>If that is right, what are we to think of Mueller’s fact-based statement?</p>
<p>At the start, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-transcript.html">Mueller outlined the parameters and limitations of his investigation.</a> Given <a href="https://fas.org/irp/agency/doj/olc/092473.pdf">Justice Department guidelines</a>, he said, he could not charge a sitting president with a crime (left unsaid: even if he felt that he had committed one). </p>
<p>Furthermore, in the interest of “fairness,” Mueller offered that it would be untoward to accuse someone of a crime when there could be no ultimate determination of guilt or innocence at trial. </p>
<p>Thus, Mueller offered no opinion on whether Trump had committed a crime. (Left unsaid: What would be the point?) As he put it, charging Trump with a crime was “not an option we could consider.” </p>
<p>The two things “left unsaid” would not be “factual” statements, but rather opinions, and he was avoiding those.</p>
<p>But then we get to the most intriguing part of Mueller’s statement, where a brief lesson in logic is in order.</p>
<h2>What Mueller believes</h2>
<p>In deductive logic, there is a relationship called the “contrapositive,” which demonstrates the equivalence between statements like “if P, then Q” and “if not Q, then not P.” Millions of LSAT takers have come to learn this by evaluating the validity of arguments like the following:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>1. Premise: If it's raining, the streets are wet
2. Premise: It's raining
3. Conclusion: Therefore, the streets are wet
</code></pre>
<p>This is a deductively valid argument, indeed famously so. The lesson here: If you buy the truth of the premises there can be no doubt about the truth of the conclusion. This one is a cinch. </p>
<p>Now compare this argument to a second one:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>1. Premise: If it's raining, the streets are wet
2. Premise: The streets are not wet
3. Conclusion: Therefore, it is not raining
</code></pre>
<p>This one, too, is deductively valid, and in fact it follows the form of the contrapositive explained above. If the premises are true, one cannot help but believe the conclusion. It is, in effect, the same type of argument. </p>
<p>But now for the moment of “truth.”</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>1. Stated premise: "If we had confidence that the
president clearly did not commit a crime,
we would have said so."
2. Unstated premise: We did not say so
3. Conclusion: We did not have confidence that the
president did not commit a crime.
</code></pre>
<p>Remove the double negative and you get the implication that – without quite saying it – Mueller believes that Trump committed a crime.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277690/original/file-20190603-69059-1sw5r9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Washington Post says that President Trump has made ‘made more than 10,000 false or misleading claims’ while in office.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Trump-Kim-Summit/8c8d45c381c64349b5afba5518495ede/31/0">AP/Susan Walsh</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Logic chopping? Cheating?’</h2>
<p>Is this message from Mueller post-truth? Cheating? Too clever by half? Or is it, as the attorneys sometimes call it, “<a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Logic%Chopping">logic chopping</a>,” the practice of using nitpicky, pedantic logic arguments to avoid dealing with the larger truth?</p>
<p>During his statement, Mueller stood with military bearing, refusing to debase himself by using the outrageous tactics of partisanship, personal attack or even overstatement. </p>
<p>Reading from his carefully prepared script, never wavering from what he has allowed himself to say, Mueller could be a prisoner of war reading a hostage statement, hoping his message will nonetheless get through.</p>
<p>Or perhaps he’s more of a schoolteacher, telling us what to study because – Congress – this will be on the test. </p>
<h2>Does Mueller matter?</h2>
<p>Have Americans’ sensibilities been so dulled by a post-truth environment that they no longer recognize the facts – and what they imply – unless they are presented within the context of politics? </p>
<p>Is America not only post-truth, but also post-logic? </p>
<p>The response to Mueller makes it seem that way. The man-who-stuck-to-the-facts was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-resigns-special-counsel.html">immediately derided</a> as a partisan hack or as a straitjacketed government functionary. About the nicest thing said about him was <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-to-think-about-muellers-statement/">in the nonpartisan publication Fivethirtyeight</a>, where staff writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux said “In some ways, Mueller’s statement felt out of sync with the current political moment.” </p>
<p>Perhaps the role of a truth-teller in a post-truth world – the “current political moment” – is simply to play it straight: neither to indulge in false equivalance nor to pick a team just because one side is doing most of the lying. </p>
<p>[<em>Expertise in your inbox.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Sign up for our newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day</a>.] </p>
<p>But telling it straight is only one-half of the equation. Such truth-tellers can insist that we do some of the work ourselves, rather than respond with lazy, thoughtless reflex. They remind us of what we have lost when all is opinion or spin – our independence of mind.</p>
<p>In a post-truth world, where everyone is jockeying for advantage and position, a truth-teller is trying to get our attention. </p>
<p>Is anyone still listening? Are we willing to do the work?</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Lee McIntyre is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/post-truth">Post-Truth</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee McIntyre is a registered Democrat. MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
What’s the role of someone who, like
Robert Mueller, speaks only facts in a tornado of partisan bombast? Is it a breath of fresh air or an abdication of responsibility to protect America’s interests?
Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115286
2019-05-08T10:13:55Z
2019-05-08T10:13:55Z
Science images can capture attention and pique curiosity in a way words alone can’t
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273070/original/file-20190507-103071-aj6oj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">These small 'robots' can create a complex system when they find each other as they roam around.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felice Frankel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Were you recently gobsmacked when you saw the very first image of a black hole? I know I was.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272880/original/file-20190506-103060-ce1a86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This first image shows a bright ring formed as light bends in the intense gravity around a black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://eventhorizontelescope.org">Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Did I understand what I was seeing? Not exactly. I certainly needed an explanation, or two. But first and foremost, I stopped to look, as I bet many others did, too … and then, I began to ask questions.</p>
<p>Pictures like this of the universe are amazing and mysterious and spark curiosity. I am convinced that part of the keen interest in all things astronomical has to do with the images scientists share – like the <a href="https://eventhorizontelescope.org">black hole</a>, and so many <a href="https://theconversation.com/hubble-in-pictures-astronomers-top-picks-40435">other Hubble telescope images</a>, for example. Those popular images are welcoming and help make the science accessible.</p>
<p>I contend people are less afraid to ask questions when they see images. Most have taken pictures and can even speak a photographic “language.” You can take notice of color, for example, and wonder if it suggests meaning – why is that black hole orange? I bet you know how to ask questions about a photograph.</p>
<p>For years, as a <a href="https://www.felicefrankel.com">science photographer</a>, I’ve been trying to persuade my colleagues in research that they can create more compelling images of their work. With simple techniques described in my new book “<a href="https://felicefrankel.com/felice-frankel-book/picturing-science-and-engineering/">Picturing Science and Engineering</a>,” scientists, and anyone else for that matter, can easily create a more interesting image — one to engage a viewer to pay attention.</p>
<p>It’s no longer good enough to create photographs or other visuals only for the experts. Learning how to speak to non-experts is essential if scientists are to combat the frightening present <a href="https://theconversation.com/defending-science-how-the-art-of-rhetoric-can-help-68210">atmosphere of scientific mistrust</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273072/original/file-20190507-103053-1c1ye9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A newly invented material, but the image might not really grab you.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alice Nasto</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here, for example, is an image that researcher <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6EBkZmsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Alice Nasto</a> created of her work in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She fabricated material that emulated sea otter fur for the purpose of studying insulation. Compare it with the photograph that I made of the same material. If you don’t see the difference, then I am in real trouble.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273074/original/file-20190507-103049-10qnpxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Different lighting and a new angle display the material in a more interesting and informative way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felice Frankel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I hope you are more compelled to look at the image that I made of the same material. All I did was fold it and light it differently. There was nothing terribly complicated about my process. But because of the drama of the lighting you are more compelled to look. In addition, folding the material gives you more information – it is highly flexible, with a “hairy” surface.</p>
<p>The fact is, science is all around you. Everything you see has to do with various scientific phenomena. Why not start a conversation about what’s going on scientifically by looking at those phenomena in a compelling image?</p>
<p>For example, have you ever noticed the condensation forming on the inside of a glass lid while sauteing colored peppers?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273075/original/file-20190507-103085-1l1lhtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A beautiful image captivates the eye and then can open the conversation about the scientific principles at play within it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felice Frankel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I made this image with my phone, taking advantage of the opportunity phone cameras offer to capture an evanescent moment. I quickly snapped the shot. In just a few seconds that image was gone, as I knew it would be. You are seeing condensation of water as the cooking peppers steam; on the glass cover, it’s easy to see how that phenomenon effects the optics of the colors. </p>
<p>Or take this next image.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273077/original/file-20190507-103057-udreqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water droplets form along folds in cellophane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felice Frankel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While walking along a street in Boston, I realized some of the trees were wrapped in cellophane. I have no idea why. But it grabbed my attention when I noticed that several of the water drops formed a line along a couple of creases.</p>
<p>There’s some interesting physics behind why that happens. The crease is acting as a guide for the water drops. The drops are “self-assembling,” a phenomenon which is key to various nanotechnology fields. One example found in nature is the way DNA is assembled in our cells, guided by a messenger RNA. In laboratories, researchers are assembling drugs by creating substrates that will attract certain chemicals.</p>
<p>Often, concepts or structures in science are not possible to photograph. When that’s the case, I try to come up with some sort of photographic metaphor that suggests the idea. Here’s one example.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273081/original/file-20190507-103068-fztwzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A composite of several other images results in one that illustrates an idea that would be impossible to capture with a photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Felice Frankel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists developed a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4866">technique that “deactivated” particular cells</a> in our bodies – macrophages – so that they would not fight against an implanted medical device. As a way to illustrate this research, I combined a few pieces of images that I’d previously made to suggest the idea behind it. The metaphor is not perfect – all metaphors fall apart – but it was good enough to get the cover of an important journal.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-395" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/395/a72fc03e8a60dce43b6a784e507cae5be832a467/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>In “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/324430/ways-of-seeing-by-john-berger/">Ways of Seeing</a>,” art critic John Berger wrote, “We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice.”</p>
<p>Choosing to look at science might very well be the first step in having important conversations about the world around you.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Felice Frankel is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://felicefrankel.com/felice-frankel-book/picturing-science-and-engineering/">Picturing Science and Engineering</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115286/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Using an artistic eye when creating pictures of scientific phenomena and new technologies can elevate the resulting images in terms of both their beauty and how informative they are.
Felice Frankel, Research Scientist in Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/113248
2019-05-01T10:42:37Z
2019-05-01T10:42:37Z
Prescription for journalists from journalists: Less time studying Twitter, more time studying math
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271798/original/file-20190430-136781-u6qok1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office, April 14, 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump/e1642e64550443b4ac3057d6588c59e7/252/0">AP/Evan Vucci</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You hear a lot of heated claims and baseless generalities these days about what’s wrong with the news media. </p>
<p>What’s seldom heard is what the underlying data indicate about true problem areas and where journalists need to improve.</p>
<p>News reporting requires doing a lot things well, but two crucial elements are being independent of political (or other) interests and knowing one’s subject well enough to select what’s important for the public.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://camd.northeastern.edu/faculty/john-p-wihbey/">media scholar and former journalist</a>. In my research for my book <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/social-fact">“The Social Fact: News and Knowledge in a Networked World,”</a> I tried to quantify certain aspects of these two dimensions of news media. </p>
<p>While the overall evidence shows journalists to be ethical in their practice and fair and public-spirited in their mission, I found some troubling signs in my research.</p>
<h2>Partisanship</h2>
<p>The first question I looked at was whether journalists were partisan. That would affect their stories by making them biased and therefore less trustworthy. </p>
<p>Research in general <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.3982/ECTA7195">continues to show</a> news media have left- and right-leaning partisan slants, although the degree depends on the outlet and subject in question.</p>
<p>But one novel aspect to consider in our hyper-polarized, social media-driven age is the relationship between journalists’ work and their online social networks, in particular Twitter, where reporters and editors spend a lot of time these days. </p>
<p>Is partisanship visible not just in the reporting of stories, but elsewhere, in the social networks that journalists inhabit?</p>
<p><iframe id="PnMwK" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PnMwK/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>As part of a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444818807133">2018 study</a> with my colleagues Kenny Joseph of the University at Buffalo, SUNY, and David Lazer at Northeastern University, we analyzed partisanship across more than 300,000 news articles produced by 644 journalists at 25 different U.S. news outlets. </p>
<p>We did this using algorithms that helped us sort and analyze each article and journalist, from more conservative outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and National Review to more liberal ones such as The New Yorker and The New York Times. </p>
<p>We looked at the frequency with which key political terms were used, such as “LGBT,” “equal pay,” and “Voting Rights Act” for left-leaning persons, and “bureaucrats,” “illegal immigrants” and “sponsor of terrorism” for right-leaning persons.</p>
<p>We then compared this analysis with a careful look at the individual journalists’ social networks on Twitter – which accounts they follow, and the degree of partisanship of these accounts. </p>
<p>Twitter is a figurative water cooler where journalists spend hours, and surely it shapes some of what they believe is important and colors their views. Research suggests that journalists see Twitter as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1077699016637105">valuable for their work</a>, and they use the platform at <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2016.1171162">relatively high rates</a> compared to the public at large. We did not design our research to be able to establish true causation, but rather set out to explore just how much of a correlation there was. </p>
<p>Overall, what we found was a modest correlation between the partisanship of the personal network a journalist follows on Twitter and the content she produces. Of course, just because a journalist chooses to follow, say, mostly conservative social media accounts doesn’t mean she will necessarily skew her journalism in that direction. It is not a mechanical relationship. But the data show a reasonably strong connection.</p>
<p>There is solid evidence of partisan segregation stretching across the news and social media worlds, and society should be worried about trends that might make polarization worse over time.</p>
<h2>Competence</h2>
<p>The second issue to consider in terms of areas of improvement for journalism is the degree to which journalists may not have sufficient knowledge or understanding of certain issues in order to inform the public properly. </p>
<p>Even if President Donald Trump’s criticism of the media is usually bombastic and misguided, it’s certainly legitimate to inquire about the competence and knowledge of news outlets. </p>
<p>We have been asking reporters and editors both about their knowledge and skills and their aspirations for the profession in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2016.1249004">survey work</a> we are conducting through the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard.</p>
<p>It’s clear there are many journalists who have substantial knowledge of many public affairs topics. But the profession continues to struggle with competence in a variety of areas, particularly with reporting about numbers, data and research. </p>
<p><iframe id="9c51X" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9c51X/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Across the board, journalists know they should be better able to do quantitative analysis and interpret information more critically, a finding in our survey research. They know these skills are key to seeing through the potential bias of sources, be they politicians, health care companies, energy firms, Wall Street, Madison Avenue or the White House. </p>
<p>For example, when a police department makes a claim about reducing crime, or a health care provider touts progress on patient safety, skeptical journalists with good data skills will have greater ability to analyze the data themselves, see through faulty claims and call out misinformation. </p>
<p>Yet the training and preparation for the profession of journalism often falls short. As a journalism educator myself, I fully admit that the responsibility and burden are very much on us, as educators, to provide training in these areas, particularly as the world grows more complex and data-driven. </p>
<p>Taking a hard look at the press is not easy at this time, as it can seem to feed the lies about journalism fueled by the president. All of this analysis is not to validate the often poisonous criticisms of the press in recent years, which have tended toward exaggeration. </p>
<p>But if we are to have any hope of regaining broad public trust in professional news media – and improve public knowledge and discourse in the way that most people want – we need to start by getting much more empirical about what is wrong and what is right with our media institutions.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>John Wihbey is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/social-fact">The Social Fact: News and Knowledge in a Networked World</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press, which is publisher of John P. Wihbey's "The Social Fact: News and Knowledge in a Networked World," provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
The president’s blame-the-press rhetoric is, to the news media, calculated to score political points. But are there real problems US journalists need to address in their work? Yes, says one scholar.
John P. Wihbey, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Innovation, Northeastern University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115283
2019-04-11T10:57:02Z
2019-04-11T10:57:02Z
How US tax laws discriminate against women, gays and people of color
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268694/original/file-20190410-2921-lcydzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Marital status is a defining characteristic of U.S. tax law.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/2018-IRS-Tax-Forms/8d78b6e0ac774f2d8d8e9b97899cd22a/9/0">AP Photo/Keith Srakocic</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What and how a country chooses to tax says a lot about its values. </p>
<p>A core value <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/interactives/declaration-of-independence/equal/index.html">built into the DNA</a> of America, for example, is equality. And in practice, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/americans-want-to-live-in-a-much-more-equal-country-they-just-dont-realize-it/260639/">Americans imagine</a> their country to be more equal than it is and strive to treat every member of society that way. </p>
<p>But, as I learned in researching <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/our-selfish-tax-laws">my book</a> “Our Selfish Tax Laws: Toward Tax Reform That Mirrors Our Better Selves,” America’s tax laws paint a different picture. </p>
<p>Instead of reflecting a society constantly striving to better itself, U.S. tax laws are mired in the past. They reinforce the social and economic marginalization of women, racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants and people with disabilities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268692/original/file-20190410-2921-1h140jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even after gay marriage was legalized in the U.S., same-sex couples still struggle with taxes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Same-Sex-Marriage-Religion/2557ab1de9bb40a597dba9e62b892336/2/0">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tax and marriage</h2>
<p>For instance, U.S. tax law has chosen marriage as the defining characteristic of all individuals when deciding how income tax returns should be filed. That is, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/16in16ag.xls">most Americans</a> file their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf">1040s</a> either as “single” individuals or as “married filing jointly.” But even when taxpayers in these two groups have equal incomes, they aren’t necessarily treated equally.</p>
<p>Among married couples, our tax laws give preferential treatment to those whose marriages comport with “tradition” – that is, with one spouse working in the labor market and the other in the home. These couples <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-marriage-penalty-marriage-bonus/">are rewarded</a> because they pay less tax than if they earned the same amount but hadn’t married. </p>
<p>In contrast, those in “modern” marriages – with each spouse working outside the home – often suffer marriage penalties. These couples pay more tax than if they earned the same amount but hadn’t married. </p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bella-depaulo/married-single-taxes_b_3079065.html">“single” taxpayers</a> never receive a bonus but instead often pay more tax than a married couple with the same income.</p>
<p>While the <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-simplified-the-tax-filing-process-for-millions-of-americans/">Tax Cuts and Jobs Act</a> passed in 2017 temporarily mitigates the marriage penalties for some two-earner married couples, it fails to address <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/understanding-marriage-penalty-and-marriage-bonus/">other aspects</a> of the tax laws that contribute to the marriage penalty. Low-income married couples, for example, are still hit with significant marriage penalties under the <a href="http://prospect.org/article/penalizing-marriage-poor">Earned Income Tax Credit</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, the act increased the bonuses paid to single-earner married couples that provide financial encouragement for one spouse – traditionally, the wife – to stay at home. To take a simple example, an individual making US$100,000 with no dependents who takes the standard deduction would see a 43 percent reduction in taxes in 2018 by marrying a stay-at-home spouse but would have seen a reduction of only about 38 percent in 2017. </p>
<p>The penalty for not marrying increased correspondingly. </p>
<h2>Rewarding discrimination</h2>
<p>The tax treatment of employment discrimination awards is another example. </p>
<p>Traditionally, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/104">personal injury awards</a> have been excluded from taxable income. Courts <a href="https://www.congress.gov/104/crpt/hrpt586/CRPT-104hrpt586.pdf">differed</a> on whether employment discrimination awards were covered by this exclusion, with some courts allowing these awards to be recovered tax-free and others requiring them to be taxed. In 1996, Congress <a href="https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ188/PLAW-104publ188.pdf">stepped in</a> to end litigation over this issue and decided to take away the exclusion, thus requiring workers to report an employment discrimination award on their federal taxes. </p>
<p>Disadvantaged groups are the ones most likely to suffer from employment discrimination. The top categories of discrimination <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=876b4bbe-d177-4e60-a52f-8352c47552b6">reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a> include race, disability, sex, age and national origin. Members of the LGBTQ community also suffer <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mo-a-rundown-of-lgbt-workplace-discrimination-20131121-story.html">discrimination</a>, but legal protection is <a href="https://www.hrc.org/state-maps/employment/pdf">not available</a> for them in every state. </p>
<p>All of these groups bear significant <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/remedies.cfm">monetary and psychological costs</a> as a result of employment discrimination. The awards they are given are intended to help mitigate those costs – to make them whole. Such awards <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/scws7&div=17&g_sent=1&casa_token=">should not be taxed</a> any more than the awards that make victims of car accidents whole for their injuries, which are still covered by the exclusion. </p>
<p>On the other side of the ledger, Congress continues to let employers required to pay these discrimination awards deduct them from their tax bills as <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/162">business expenses</a>.</p>
<p>If the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes">goal</a> is to prevent employment discrimination, it’s counterproductive to penalize victimized workers with a tax while rewarding employers who allegedly or actually discriminated with a benefit.</p>
<p>Again the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act <a href="http://mjbuscalaw.com/new-tax-law-prohibits-sexual-harassment-deductions/">made a nod at reform</a> – and the #MeToo movement – by taking away that employer deduction for settlements in certain sexual harassment cases. But that misses the bigger picture and deeper problem with the tax code. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268693/original/file-20190410-2924-156qepu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Politicians often talk of ‘tax reform.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Republicans-Taxes/5a30c7c0e7634d6bb36e747abdbbfc6c/93/0">AP Photo/Andrew Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Meaningful tax reform</h2>
<p>These are but two examples among many of how U.S. tax laws present a distorted picture of what Americans value and the type of society that America aspires to be. </p>
<p>So when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/19/donald-trump-tax-bill-plan-house-approves-senate">politicians talk about “tax reform,”</a> much more is at stake than retaining political power or doling out tax cuts. True tax reform takes time and should entail discussions among the electorate and with politicians regarding the role that the tax laws play in exacerbating social and economic inequality.</p>
<p>That way, Americans can build a tax system that helps create a more just society rather than one that just rewards privilege.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-american-tax-laws-encourage-inequality-104027">article originally published</a> on Oct. 24, 2018.</em></p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Anthony C. Infanti is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/our-selfish-tax-laws">Our Selfish Tax Laws: Toward Tax Reform That Mirrors Our Better Selves</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
A country’s tax policies say a lot about what it values – and some of America’s tend to promote inequality.
Anthony C. Infanti, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112803
2019-04-05T10:42:18Z
2019-04-05T10:42:18Z
An industrialized global food supply chain threatens human health – here’s how to improve it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267375/original/file-20190403-177187-2m7f9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Distribution center for the UK grocer Sainsbury, Waltham Point, England.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/5j5pY8">Nick Saltmarsh</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an outbreak that has now run for more than 28 months, at least 279 people across 41 states have fallen ill with multidrug-resistant <em>Salmonella</em> infections <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/reading-07-18/index.html">linked to raw turkey products</a>. Federal investigators are still trying to determine the cause. In response to food company recalls, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/reading-07-18/index.html">more than 150 tons</a> of raw turkey products have flowed back through the supply chain as waste. </p>
<p>In an age when companies envision drone pizza delivery and hamburgers prepared by robots, why is it so hard to locate the source of food-borne diseases like this one?</p>
<p>As I show in my new book, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/food-routes">“Food Routes: Growing Bananas in Iceland and Other Tales from the Logistics of Eating</a>,” the challenge of tracing food-borne illnesses in the United States demonstrates that our high-tech food system is broken in fundamental ways. It also reveals a lag between announcements of new, cool tech advances and applying them to solve real problems. In the meantime people get sick, some die and food piles up in landfills.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ptIcVdxC8o8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Food safety is at risk at all stages of the supply chain.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Assembling food from far-flung sources</h2>
<p>Unsafe food sickens about <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-safety">600 million people every year</a> – nearly 10% of the world’s population. Susceptibility to food-borne disease is rising as populations age. In addition, people are taking more <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2017/079.pdf">medications</a>, which often cause <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5001/omj.2011.21">negative interactions</a> with chemicals in highly processed foods. These interactions contribute to food-related illnesses. </p>
<p>And the costs of food-borne illnesses are significant – over <a href="https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/estimated-annual-cost-of-foodborne-illness-in-the-us-tops-15-billion/">US$15.6 billion yearly</a> in the United States. Some of the recent increase is due to better tracking of food in the supply chain, which has improved tracing of outbreaks that might have gone unreported in the past.</p>
<p>But it’s one thing to detect outbreaks and another to prevent them. Globalization of the food supply chain makes this task more challenging. Ingredients come together from remote parts of the world to make pizza sauce. A simple hamburger patty from McDonald’s contains meat from <a href="https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/help/faq/18908-do-mcdonalds-burgers-contain-beef-from-lots-of-different-cows.html">100 cows</a>. Some <a href="https://www.fishwatch.gov/sustainable-seafood/the-global-picture">85%</a> of the seafood Americans eat is imported, mostly from countries with lax food handling practices. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267369/original/file-20190403-177181-zm3z4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Los Angeles, an inspector from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepares imported food samples for laboratory analysis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/7RbVRL">FDA/Michael J. Ermarth</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Improving the global food system in ways that address food safety offers enormous payoffs, but will require compromises. In response to consumers’ insatiable desire for more personalized, individualized food products, snack companies produce <a href="https://gourmetpopcornfinder.com/">popcorn in dozens of flavors</a>, and bakeries make <a href="https://www.magnoliabakery.com/pdf/magnoliabakery-menu-2018.pdf">cupcakes with multiple types of nuts</a> and <a href="https://www.tatesbakeshop.com/">cookies with and without gluten</a>. </p>
<p>Tracking, reporting and recalling contaminated food needs to occur in real time and become more precise, and even predictive, based on a food producer’s track record. But the proliferation of food products makes efforts to track a contaminated nut back through the supply chain ever more challenging.</p>
<h2>Siri, find my lunch</h2>
<p>Already, food suppliers are using new digital tools to optimize the journey foods take from source to plate. Companies are embedding packaging with smart sensors that will measure how long individual shipments have been in transit, reducing the need for plastic packaging. </p>
<p>For example, as a shipping container of ham hocks moves from Liverpool to New York, a small sensor can send real-time <a href="https://www.innolabel.eu/en/">internal temperature measurements</a> to the buyer, documenting that the product has been kept cold throughout transit in conformance with established food safety requirements. <a href="https://arviem.com">GPS tags</a> can track turkeys on poultry farms to monitor where they wander before entering the food supply chain. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, however, making the food system more transparent may make it more vulnerable to attacks. Food terrorism – deliberately contaminating food as it travels through the supply chain – could increase as bad actors locate sites where they can trigger food-borne disease outbreaks. On the other hand, <a href="https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/octobernovember-2017/food-safety-insider-rapid-micro-solutions/real-time-pcr-for-cutting-edge-food-testing/">new digital tools</a> that can test for contamination are entering the market and will make it easier to identify such breaches. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267373/original/file-20190403-177196-t5xpnn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canada, Mexico and China are among the largest sources of U.S. food imports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/58393/trade_fig06.png?v=3152.4">USDA ERS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Blockchain for mangoes</h2>
<p>However, sharing data as food travels from farm to plate cuts against ingrained practices in the food industry. Many food processors and logistics companies guard their practices in much the same way that tech companies protect intellectual property. </p>
<p>For example, getting turkeys to market faster than the competition may give a poultry company its competitive edge. Moreover, I have seen firsthand that many food companies still maintain records on slips of paper, handwritten and kept on clipboards, reflecting how slow technological change can be.</p>
<p>Partnerships between companies will help to modernize the system. For example, IBM and Walmart are utilizing IBM’s blockchain system to <a href="https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/solutions/food-trust">track food through the delivery process</a>, starting with mangoes. <a href="https://origintrail.io/use-cases">Origintrail</a>, a supply chain management company, is working with sensor designer <a href="https://www.tagitsmart.eu/">TagitSmart</a> to <a href="https://medium.com/origintrail/utilizing-smart-sensors-to-prevent-wine-fraud-origintrails-pilot-with-tagitsmart-1949dc62113f">track the movement of wine</a> in southern Europe from vineyard to point of sale as a way of preventing adulteration or counterfeiting. </p>
<p>But making food more traceable will take time. Large-scale food manufacturers will need incentives to step out from behind the curtain. In my view, however, the goal should be to find and address supply chain breakdowns, like the current turkey meat crisis, in days, not years.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Robyn Metcalfe is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/food-routes">Food Routes: Growing Bananas in Iceland and other Tales from the Logistics of Eating</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.
</span></em></p>
Globalization is making it harder to identify and trace outbreaks of foodborne illness. Technology can help, but consumers may also have to rethink their food choices.
Robyn Metcalfe, Lecturer in Human Ecology, The University of Texas at Austin
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/114493
2019-04-03T10:47:30Z
2019-04-03T10:47:30Z
What your pet’s microchip has to do with the Mark of the Beast
<p>An almost invisible electronic device used all over the world – best known to much of the public for helping reunite lost pets and their owners, but also found in subway cards, electronic tolling, luggage tags, passports and warehouse inventory systems – has alarmed some evangelical Christian communities, who see in this technology the work of the Antichrist.</p>
<p>In a section of “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/billion-little-pieces">A Billion Little Pieces</a>,” my 2019 book about Radio Frequency Identification chips, also known as RFID chips, I investigate why these tiny items have, in some religious circles, become closely linked with the apocalypse depicted in the biblical Book of Revelation. The reasons are more connected with modern concerns than you might expect.</p>
<h2>What is RFID?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">RFID chips can be small and flexible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RFID_Chip_003.JPG">Maschinenjunge/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For starters, RFID technology is a method of wirelessly, digitally identifying objects – like luggage, cars or subway passes – that often does not require any internal power source. A small chip is inserted into or attached to an item to be identified – like a duffel bag or a toll pass transponder. It does nothing until it passes near an RFID reader, which can be a few inches away for passports, or several feet away as in highway toll barriers. The reader emits a specific radio frequency that activates the chip, which then transmits its digital identification code.</p>
<p>The chips, also called tags, are just about everywhere. <a href="https://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/rfid-forecasts-players-and-opportunities-2018-2028-000642.asp">About 10 billion tags</a> were used around the world in 2018 alone. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2017/05/15/is-the-rfid-retail-revolution-finally-here-a-macys-case-study/#13f995bd3294">Retailers – especially clothing stores</a> – are a potentially huge market that has begun to adopt RFID systems to monitor inventory and to prevent theft.</p>
<p>Many domestic pets are <a href="https://blog.atlasrfidstore.com/low-frequency-rfid-and-animal-identification">microchipped with RFID</a>, encoding information that helps them reunite with their owners if they get lost. Some humans have also chosen to <a href="https://www.dangerousthings.com">microchip themselves</a> so their bodies can wirelessly communicate with identification systems – and that’s where the evangelicals get upset.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The people at the right of the illumination are receiving the Mark of the Beast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Beast_from_the_Earth_Killing_People_and_People_Receiving_the_Mark_of_the_Beast_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">Getty Center/Google Cultural Institute/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Mark of the Beast</h2>
<p>What does a chip implant have to do with the Bible? Believers see echoes of RFID chips in a short passage in the Book of Revelation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[The beast] <a href="https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/Rev.%2013.16-17">causes all, both small and great</a>, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This passage is the origin of beliefs around what would eventually become known as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast#Mark_of_the_Beast">Mark of the Beast</a>,” a way to identify those who worship the Antichrist. More than 15 years ago, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2006/06/rfid-sign-of-the-end-times/">some evangelicals began linking RFID to the mark</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A doctor implants an RFID chip in a patient’s hand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr_Mark_Gasson_has_an_RFID_microchip_implanted_in_his_left_hand_by_a_surgeon_(March_16_2009).jpg">Paul Hughes/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My research has found that they made the connection for two main reasons. First, when biohackers chip themselves, they typically put the RFID chip into the palm of one hand because it’s easy to wave that at sensors to open doors or process payments, and the scripture specifically mentions the mark on a person’s hand. In addition, some people have injected RFID chips containing <a href="https://boingboing.net/2016/07/15/biohacking-for-newbies-all-yo.html">credit card payment information</a>, which calls to mind to the payment methods mentioned in the Bible. </p>
<p>These links spread in some evangelical communities throughout the 2000s, with many articles published <a href="https://endtimestruth.com/mark-of-the-beast/rfid/">on religious sites about RFID</a>. The authors of a best-selling book about RFID and surveillance – “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299110/spychips-by-katherine-albrecht/9780452287662/">Spychips</a>” – published an <a href="https://www.thomasnelson.com/9781418551759/the-spychips-threat/">alternative version</a> targeted at evangelical Christians that included added passages about the Book of Revelation. The main RFID industry publication even published <a href="https://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?2543">a refutation of those claims</a>. </p>
<p>In the years since, the connection between RFID and the mark has remained prominent. In 2017, a Wisconsin company offered to pay for its employees to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/three-square-market-ceo-explains-its-employee-microchip-implant.html">get RFID implants</a> – if they voluntarily chose to. The company’s Google business listing was flooded with more than 100 <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/08/09/you-get-chipped-eventually/547336001/">one-star reviews</a>, many of which said it was a sin to use RFID as a form of identification or payment. Some of them were specific about what was wrong, saying the company was “doing the dirty work for Satan himself” and urging employees to “read your Bible. This is the first sign of the mark of the beast.”</p>
<h2>Does it really matter?</h2>
<p>It’s more than just a curiosity that evangelical Christians have linked RFID to the apocalypse. Evangelicals are a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/us/religion-politics-evangelicals.html">major force in American culture and politics</a>, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/29/the-religious-divide-on-views-of-technologies-that-would-enhance-human-beings/">their views on technology</a> are often underreported. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Readers mounted above the highway track RFID chips in cars passing beneath them, charging drivers for tolls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pov-driving-forward-view-passing-highway-1059644582">BrandonKleinVideo/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, they’re expressing concern about an increasingly ubiquitous technology, similar to objections raised by privacy advocates that have actually <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/2563700/metro-store-bows-to-pressure-from-anti-rfid-activists.html">changed corporate policies</a> in the past. </p>
<p>Most people probably don’t agree that RFID represents the Mark of the Beast. But the roots of that concern do raise interesting questions about the merging of human bodies and computing. The religious fear that every person might need to be physically tagged to pay for things and move freely shares a lot with the concerns expressed by <a href="https://www.eff.org/issues/rfid">more mainstream privacy advocates</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, there’s something poetic about linking a tiny technology used to identify rescue dogs in a shelter to the Mark of the Beast. After all, there’s likely no more consequential type of identification than the differentiation of the damned from the redeemed.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Jordan Frith is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/billion-little-pieces">A Billion Little Pieces: RFID and Infrastructures of Identification</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Tiny electronic items can identify pets, clothes and even people. Evangelical Christians aren’t the only people worried about what this technology might mean.
Jordan Frith, Associate Professor of Technical Communication, University of North Texas
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112063
2019-03-26T10:39:26Z
2019-03-26T10:39:26Z
In the future, everyone might use quantum computers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260809/original/file-20190225-26152-1t0qzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A seven-qubit quantum device at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/AP-Explains-Quantum-Computers/339e02b0380e4b83afdb1b719514579b/5/0">AP Photo/Seth Wenig</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Computers were once considered high-end technology, only accessible to scientists and trained professionals. But there was a seismic shift in the history of computing during the second half of the 1970s. It wasn’t just that machines became much smaller and more powerful — though, of course, they did. It was the shift in who would use computers and where: They became available to everyone to use in their own home. </p>
<p>Today, quantum computing is in its infancy. Quantum computation incorporates some of the most mind-bending concepts from 20th-century physics. In the U.S., Google, IBM and NASA are experimenting and building the first quantum computers. <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computing-china-us">China is also investing heavily in quantum technology</a>.</p>
<p>As the author of <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/quantum-computing-everyone">“Quantum Computing for Everyone</a>,” due out in March, I believe that there will be an analogous shift toward quantum computing, where enthusiasts will be able to play with quantum computers from their homes. This shift will occur much sooner than most people realize.</p>
<h2>Rise of personal computers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/UNIVAC">The first modern computers</a> were constructed in the 1950s. They were large, often unreliable, and by today’s standards, not particularly powerful. They were designed for solving large problems, such as developing the first hydrogen bomb. There was general consensus that this was the sort of thing that computers were good for and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pogue-all-time-worst-tech-predictions/">that the world would not need many of them</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, this view turned out to be completely wrong. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260816/original/file-20190225-26165-2zovmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Programming in BASIC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MobileBASIC_for_Android.jpg">David Firth/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1964, John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz <a href="https://www.dartmouth.edu/basicfifty/basic.html">wrote the BASIC language</a>. Their goal was to design a simple programming language that would be easy to learn and would enable anyone to program. As a result, programming was no longer solely for highly trained scientists. Anyone could now learn to program if they wanted to. </p>
<p>This shift in computing continued when the first home computers appeared in the late 1970s. Hobbyists could now buy their own computer and program it at home. Parents and children could learn together. These first computers were not very powerful and there were a limited number of things that you could do with them, <a href="https://www.commodore.ca/commodore-products/commodore-64-the-best-selling-computer-in-history/">but they had an extremely enthusiastic reception</a>.</p>
<p>As people played with their machines, they realized that they wanted more features and more power. The founders of Microsoft and Apple understood that the home computer had a bright future. </p>
<p>Almost every American now owns a laptop, tablet or smartphone – <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/25/device-ownership/">or all three</a>. They spend a lot of time <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/610045/the-average-american-spends-24-hours-a-week-online/">on social media, e-commerce and searching the internet</a>. </p>
<p>None of these activities existed in the 1950s. Nobody at the time knew that they wanted or needed them. It was the availability of a new tool, the computer, that led to their development. </p>
<h2>Enter quantum</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.rutherfordjournal.org/article040101.html">Classical computation</a>, the kind of computation that powers the computer in your home, is based on how humans compute. It breaks down all computations into their most fundamental parts: the binary digits 0 and 1. Nowadays, our computers use bits – a portmanteau word from binary digits – because they are easy to implement with switches that are either in the on or off position.</p>
<p><a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/quantum-computing-101">Quantum computation</a> is based on how the universe computes. It contains all of classical computing, but also incorporates a couple of new concepts that come from quantum physics. </p>
<p>Instead of the bits of classical computation, quantum computing has qubits. However, the outcome from a quantum computation is exactly the same as that from a classical computation: a number of bits.</p>
<p>The difference is that, during the computation, the computer can manipulate qubits in more ways that it can with bits. It can put qubits in a superposition of states and entangle them. </p>
<p>Both superposition and entanglement are concepts from quantum mechanics that most people are not familiar with. Superposition roughly means that a qubit can be in a mixture of both 0 and 1. Entanglement denotes correlation between qubits. When one of a pair of entangled qubits is measured, that immediately shows what value you will get when you measure its partner. This is what Einstein referred to as <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-shatters-ldquo-spooky-action-at-a-distance-rdquo-record-preps-for-quantum-internet/">“spooky action at a distance.”</a></p>
<p>The mathematics needed for a full description of quantum mechanics is daunting, and this background is needed to design and build a quantum computer. But the mathematics needed to understand quantum computation and to start designing quantum circuits is much less: High school algebra is essentially the only requirement. </p>
<h2>Quantum computing and you</h2>
<p>Quantum computers are only just starting to be built. They are large machines that are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/8/18171732/ibm-quantum-computer-20-qubit-q-system-one-ces-2019">somewhat unreliable and not yet very powerful.</a></p>
<p>What will they be used for? Quantum computing has important applications in <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2018/10/20/quantum-computers-will-break-the-encryption-that-protects-the-internet">cryptography</a>. In 1994, MIT mathematician Peter Shor showed that, if quantum computers could be built, they would be able to break current internet encryption methods. This spurred the construction of new ways of encrypting data that can withstand quantum attacks, launching the age of <a href="https://security.googleblog.com/2016/07/experimenting-with-post-quantum.html">post-quantum cryptography</a>.</p>
<p>It also looks as though quantum computing will probably have a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603794/chemists-are-first-in-line-for-quantum-computings-benefits/">large impact on chemistry</a>. There are certain reactions that classical computers have difficulty simulating. Chemists hope that quantum computers will be efficient at modeling these quantum phenomena.</p>
<p>But I don’t think it makes much sense to speculate about what most people will be doing with quantum computers in 50 years. It may make more sense to ask when quantum computing will become something that anyone can use from their own home. </p>
<p>The answer is that this is already possible. In 2016, <a href="http://faculty.fairfield.edu/cbernhardt/TasteQuantumComputing.pdf">IBM added a small quantum computer to the cloud</a>. Anyone with an internet connection can design and run their own quantum circuits on this computer. A quantum circuit is a sequence of basic steps that perform a quantum calculation. </p>
<p>Not only is IBM’s quantum computer free to use, but this quantum computer has a simple graphical interface. It is a small, not very powerful machine, much like the first home computers, but hobbyists can start playing. The shift has begun.</p>
<p>Humans are entering an age when it is straightforward to learn and experiment with quantum computation. As with the first home computers, it might not be clear that there are problems that need to be solved with quantum computers, but as people play, I think it’s likely they will find that they need more power and more features. This will open the way for new applications that we haven’t yet imagined.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Chris Bernhardt is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/quantum-computing-everyone">Quantum Computing for Everyone</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Bernhardt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Computers were once considered high-end technology, only accessible to scientists and trained professionals. Today, almost everyone has one. Will quantum computing follow the same path?
Christopher Bernhardt, Professor of Mathematics, Fairfield University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/113985
2019-03-21T10:44:25Z
2019-03-21T10:44:25Z
Why social movements like #MeToo seem to come out of nowhere
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264972/original/file-20190320-93054-j342ew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tarana Burke created #MeToo in 2006 but it didn't emerge as a mass social movement until 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Supreme-Court-Kavanaugh-MeToo/d404cf1712bc48da99b0251790de864f/128/0">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of history’s revolutions and social movements <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3280325">have emerged with little or no warning</a>. Even those leading the charge are often taken aback, even stunned, when they succeed.</p>
<p>Alexis de Tocqueville reported that <a href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/tocqueville-the-old-regime-and-the-revolution-1856">no one foresaw the French Revolution</a> in 1789. Vladimir Lenin <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/timurkuran/files/2016/10/inevitability-of-surprises-1.original.pdf">was amazed</a> by the success and speed of the Russian Revolution over a century later. And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1662-6370.2011.02045.x">few predicted</a> that a Tunisian man’s self-immolation would spark revolutions across the Arab world in 2010. </p>
<p>Why do social movements and revolutions happen? Why are they so hard to anticipate? Why does social change seem to come out of nowhere? </p>
<p>For the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ddq2_gkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">last two decades</a>, I have spent a lot of time on those questions, which I try to address in my new book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/how-change-happens">How Change Happens</a>.” My aim here is to offer some glimpses of what I have learned – and, in the process, to help explain #MeToo.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264974/original/file-20190320-93032-1e49enz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vladimir Lenin was as surprised as anyone that the Russian Revolution succeeded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution#/media/File:Armed_soldiers_carry_a_banner_reading_%27Communism%27,_Nikolskaya_street,_Moscow,_October_1917.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Solving the puzzle</h2>
<p>Three factors with admittedly awkward names seem to play a big role: preference falsification, diverse thresholds and interdependencies. When the three are taken together, the difficulty of anticipating social movements becomes less puzzling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.econlib.org/archives/2010/04/preference_fals.html">Preference falsification</a> exists when people conceal, or do not reveal, what they actually think and prefer. They might say they like the current situation when they despise it. They might silence themselves. Their friends and neighbors might have no idea what they actually think. To that extent, people live amidst what is called “pluralistic ignorance,” in which they do not know about the preferences of others. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uzh.ch/cmsssl/suz/dam/jcr:ffffffff-f952-f950-ffff-ffff87498b5e/03.18_granovetter_78.pdf">Diverse thresholds</a> mean that different people require different levels of social support before they will rebel or say what they actually think. </p>
<p>Some people might require no support at all; they are rebels by nature. They might be courageous, committed, angry or foolhardy. Call them the “zeroes.” They might well turn out to be isolated; no one may join them, in which case they might look radical, self-destructive or even crazy. </p>
<p>Other people might require a little support. They will not speak out or take action unless someone else does, but if someone does, they are prepared to rebel as well. Call them the “ones.” </p>
<p>Others might require more than a little; they are the “twos.” The twos will do nothing unless they see the zeroes and the ones rebelling. But if they do, they will rebel as well. The twos are followed by the threes, the fours, the tens, the hundreds and the thousands, all the way up to the infinites – defined as people who will not rebel or oppose the status quo or the regime, no matter what. </p>
<p>Interdependencies point to the fact that the behavior of the ones, the twos, the threes and so forth will depend crucially on who, if anyone, is seen to have done what. </p>
<p>Suppose that the zeroes go first, then the ones, then the twos, then the threes and so on. Or perhaps vice-versa. Or maybe it is all random. Under imaginable assumptions, a rebellion will occur, but only given the right distribution of thresholds and the right kind of visibility. If the ones see the zeroes, they will rebel, and if the twos see the ones, they, too, will rebel, and if the threes see the twos, they will join them. If the conditions are just right, almost everyone will rebel. </p>
<p>But it is important to see that the conditions have to be just right. Suppose that there are no zeroes, or that no one sees any zeroes. If so, no rebellion will occur. If there are few ones, no rebellion will occur and the status quo or the regime is likely to be safe. If most people are tens or hundreds or thousands, the same is true, even if there are some ones, twos, three, fours and so forth.</p>
<h2>The case of #MeToo</h2>
<p>Consider #MeToo in this light. All three conditions are met. </p>
<p>First, with respect to sexual assault and sexual harassment, preference falsification has run rampant. Victims <a href="https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol59/iss7/8/">have silenced themselves</a>. In many cases, they have said that all is or was well when it is or was anything but. </p>
<p>In the case of #MeToo, however, it might be better to speak of experience falsification. That is, victims have also been silent about or falsifying their experiences to others, including employers. Falsifying one’s experiences can be especially searing. </p>
<p>Second, different women had and have <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/cmsssl/suz/dam/jcr:ffffffff-f952-f950-ffff-ffff87498b5e/03.18_granovetter_78.pdf">different thresholds</a> for disclosing their experiences and their judgments – that is, they need varying numbers of others to speak out first before they are willing to open up as well. Some women are ones, others are twos, others are tens and others are hundreds or thousands. </p>
<p>For one reason or another, some may be infinites. They might be frightened, have some kind of loyalty to the perpetrator, not want their lives to be disrupted or cherish their privacy. </p>
<p>Some might not have clarity on what their thresholds are. They – and we – learn about it after the fact. Consider the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueMidterm2018/comments/7htcn0/the_full_statement_from_beverly_young_nelson_one/">following words</a> from Beverly Young Nelson, who in 2017 accused Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of having sexually assaulted her in 1977:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I thought that I was Mr. Moore’s only victim. I would probably have taken what Mr. Moore did to me to my grave, had it not been for the courage of four other women that were willing to speak out about their experiences with Mr. Moore. Their courage has inspired me to overcome my fear.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Lighting the flame</h2>
<p>Finally, social interactions are, and continue to be, crucial to #MeToo. </p>
<p>Under certain conditions, the threes and the fours would silence themselves, because the ones and the twos were silent too. But #MeToo has benefited from the visibility of those who spoke out and the multiple interactions made possible by social media. </p>
<p>Shortly after the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672">Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal</a> broke in October 2017, actor and activist Alyssa Milano <a href="https://twitter.com/alyssa_milano/status/919659438700670976?lang=en">sent a tweet</a> to her followers asking them to share their stories of harassment or assault by replying “me too.” Within 24 hours, <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/10/16/16482410/me-too-social-media-protest-facebook-twitter-instagram">45 percent of all U.S. Facebook users</a> had friends in their networks who had posted “me too.”</p>
<p>Once people like Milano and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672">Lena Dunham</a> spoke out, others – we might think of them as the threes and the fours and the fives – felt safer or emboldened. </p>
<p>That’s what happened, and it is happening all over the world. And when social movements take off and succeed, that’s often why.
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Cass Sunstein is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/how-change-happens">How Change Happens</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.
</span></em></p>
From the French Revolution to #MeToo, social movements often burst into the mainstream with what seems like little warning. Cass Sunstein explains why.
Cass Sunstein, University Professor, Harvard University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112119
2019-02-27T11:41:47Z
2019-02-27T11:41:47Z
China is catching up to the US on artificial intelligence research
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260051/original/file-20190220-148520-6uvc8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=278%2C35%2C2465%2C1387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. may be ahead for now, but not by much.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/illustration-little-robot-hold-china-flag-1163324068?src=atevuP_ymoILY2cQjccFbA-1-0">onime/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Researchers, companies and countries around the world are racing to explore – and exploit – the possibilities of artificial intelligence technology. China is working on an extremely aggressive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/business/china-artificial-intelligence.html">multi-billion-dollar plan</a> for government investment into AI research and applications. The U.S. government has been slower to act. </p>
<p>The Obama administration issued a <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/10/12/administrations-report-future-artificial-intelligence">report on AI</a> near the end of its term. Since then, little has happened – until a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-maintaining-american-leadership-artificial-intelligence/">Feb. 11 executive order</a> from President Donald Trump encouraging the country to do more with AI.</p>
<p>The executive order has several parts, including directing federal agencies to invest in AI and train workers “in AI-relevant skills,” making federal data and computing resources available to AI researchers and telling the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create standards for AI systems that are reliable and work well together. These are all good ideas, but they lack funding and bureaucratic structure. So after <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QUhNN6QAAAAJ&hl=en">researching how large organizations use AI</a> for the past five years, in my view the executive order alone is not likely to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-artificial-intelligence-executive-order-will-ensure-america-doesnt-lose-the-ai-race-to-china">transform the American approach</a> to AI. </p>
<h2>Government spending</h2>
<p>China is doing far more than talking about AI. In 2017, the country’s <a href="http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2017-07/20/content_5211996.htm">national government announced</a> it wanted to make the country and its industries <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/business/china-artificial-intelligence.html">world leaders in AI technologies</a> by 2030. The government’s latest venture capital fund is expected to invest <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/report-chinas-government-establishes-30-billion-vc-fund">more than US$30 billion</a> in AI and related technologies within state-owned firms, and that fund joins even larger state-funded VC funds.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/technology/china-trump-artificial-intelligence.html">One Chinese state alone</a> has said it will devote $5 billion to developing AI technologies and businesses. The city of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-artificial-intelligence/beijing-to-build-2-billion-ai-research-park-xinhua-idUSKBN1ES0B8">Beijing</a> has committed $2 billion to developing an AI-focused industrial park. A major port, Tianjin, plans to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-ai-tianjin/chinas-city-of-tianjin-to-set-up-16-billion-artificial-intelligence-fund-idUSKCN1II0DD">invest $16 billion</a> in its local AI industry.</p>
<p>These government programs will support ambitious major projects, startups and academic research in AI. The national effort also includes using AI in China’s defense and intelligence industries; the country’s leaders are not reluctant to use AI for <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/china-s-massive-investment-artificial-intelligence-has-insidious-downside">social and political control</a>. For example, both AI-driven facial recognition, even to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/22/18107885/china-facial-recognition-mistaken-jaywalker">catch jaywalkers</a>, and “<a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-social-credit-system-explained">social credit</a>” – an AI-driven credit score that factors in social behaviors – are already in use.</p>
<p><a href="https://media.defense.gov/2019/Feb/12/2002088963/-1/-1/1/SUMMARY-OF-DOD-AI-STRATEGY.PDF">U.S. investment plans</a>, mostly in the defense industry, are dwarfed by the Chinese effort. DARPA, the Defense Department’s research arm, has sponsored AI research and competitions for many years, and has a $2 billion fund called “<a href="https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-11-16">AI Next</a>” to help develop the next wave of AI technologies in universities and companies. It’s not yet clear how much real progress its efforts have made. </p>
<h2>Private sector contributions</h2>
<p>The U.S. has a strong private sector effort in this technology. There are, for instance, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/global-artificial-intelligence-landscape-including-3465-westerheide/">many more AI firms in the U.S.</a> than in China. </p>
<p>American investment appears strong, too. In 2015, for example, the combined research and development spending at the U.S.-headquartered companies Google, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon was <a href="https://www.axios.com/how-ai-is-taking-over-the-global-economy-in-one-chart-1513303050-f4f4f807-5d32-4a2d-bf8c-8d639c41849d.html">$54 billion</a>. Much of that spending <a href="https://www.techworld.com/picture-gallery/data/tech-giants-investing-in-artificial-intelligence-3629737/">went toward AI research</a>, but some of the work <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/12/13/google-china-artificial-intelligence/">actually happened in China</a> and elsewhere outside the U.S. That work has been used to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-tailor-personalized-marketing-messages-2018-10">personalize ads</a>, <a href="https://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2015/10/18/using-artificial-intelligence-to-improve-search-engine-optimization/">improve search results</a>, <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-heres-why-we-need-ai-facial-recognition-laws-right-now/">recognize and label faces</a> and generally <a href="https://www.adweek.com/digital/what-to-expect-as-amazon-delves-deeper-into-smart-homes-and-ai/">make products smarter</a>.</p>
<p>In China, the private sector is much more closely tied to government plans than in the U.S. The Chinese government has asked <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2120913/china-recruits-baidu-alibaba-and-tencent-ai-national-team">four large AI-oriented firms in China</a> – Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba and iFlytek – to develop AI hardware and software systems to handle autonomous driving and language processing, so other companies could build on those skills.</p>
<p>China may have also surpassed the American historic advantage in venture capital investments. In 2018, U.S. AI startups received $9.3 billion in venture funding – a record amount, but the number of deals was down from 2017. However, one report from China suggests that in the first half of 2018, Chinese venture investments – many of which involved AI – were <a href="https://www.ai-cio.com/news/chinese-vc-investments-tops-us-first-time/">higher than in the U.S.</a> Data from 2017 suggest that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/china-could-surpass-the-us-in-artificial-intelligence-tech-heres-how.html">Chinese AI firms received more venture funding</a> than U.S. companies, although the American funding went to many more firms.</p>
<p><iframe id="zZ3uz" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zZ3uz/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Beyond investment money</h2>
<p>There are other factors than investment that determine a country’s long-term competitiveness on AI. Talent is an important one. The U.S. had an historical edge in this regard, with strong technical universities, many technology sector employers and relatively open immigration policies. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://technode.com/2017/08/24/is-china-really-that-far-ahead-in-ai-research-says-no/">analysis of LinkedIn data</a> suggests that the U.S. has far more AI engineers than China does. But China is closing the gap rapidly, with a variety of <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-artificial-intelligence-education-superpower">education and training programs</a> beginning as early as elementary school. The Trump administration’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-a-crisis-at-the-us-mexico-border-6-essential-reads-109547">restrictions on immigration</a> are encouraging some of the world’s best AI researchers to stay home, rather than come to the U.S.</p>
<p>Another element in long-term AI success is how particular regions build mutually reinforcing communities of companies, university ecosystems and government agencies. <a href="https://theconversation.com/silicon-valley-from-hearts-delight-to-toxic-wasteland-86983">Silicon Valley</a> is the world leader in this regard, and China doesn’t have anything to match it yet. Both the U.S. and China could learn from efforts in Canada, such as the work by the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, which has offered companies access to facilities, venture capital and university research partnerships to accelerate AI development in that city.</p>
<p>A final key element in AI progress is data: The more data a country’s companies have, the better able they are to develop capable AI systems. Chinese online firms have massive amounts of consumer data on which to train machine learning algorithms. Because of its very large number of inhabitants, the population’s heavy use of digital services and its <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/health-care-data-lax-rules-help-china-prosper-ai/">lax regulatory environment</a>, China clearly beats the U.S. on data.</p>
<p>I still think the U.S. has the edge over China in AI capabilities at the moment. However, as much as I would like the U.S. to win this race over the long run, if I were a betting man I would bet on China. As I describe in my new book “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ai-advantage">The AI Advantage</a>,” China is executing its strategy for AI, and the U.S. is still wrestling to create one. China is also reaping the benefits of having a determined government, an inexhaustible pot of money, a growing cadre of smart researchers and a large, digital-hungry population. </p>
<p>Perhaps if the leadership of the U.S. government devoted as much attention and investment to AI as it does to its other strong priorities, the U.S. could maintain its lead in the field. That seems unlikely over the next couple of years, however.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Thomas H. Davenport is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ai-advantage">The AI Advantage: How to Put the Artificial Intelligence Revolution to Work</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112119/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
A recent executive order from President Trump won’t do much to help the US stay ahead of Chinese innovation and investment in AI.
Thomas H. Davenport, Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111716
2019-02-25T11:39:19Z
2019-02-25T11:39:19Z
Lessons from IBM for Google, Amazon and Facebook
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259122/original/file-20190214-1726-ovse4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C84%2C5582%2C3648&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">IBM has experience that will be relevant for the future of technology.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hannover-germany-march-2017-man-vr-710420449">Alexander Tolstykh/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s impressive when companies last for decades – or even more than a century – and especially so when they’re in a fast-changing industry like computer technology. IBM, which <a href="https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/history_intro.html">traces its roots to the 1880s</a>, grew from three small firms to a multi-billion-dollar information technology services company today. Its ups and downs along the way offer some insights into the global technology industry, and may contain some instructive lessons for up-and-coming digital giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook – all of which are far younger than IBM.</p>
<p>In my new book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ibm">IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon</a>,” I explore the company’s history of creating and selling data processing equipment and software. As a former IBM employee and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RjobE18AAAAJ&hl=en">a historian</a>, the most important lesson I found is that many people confuse incremental changes in technology with more fundamental ones that actually shape the course of a company’s destiny. </p>
<p>There is a difference between individual products – successive models of PCs or typewriters – and the underlying technologies that make them work. Over 130 years, IBM released <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IBM_products">well over 3,600 hardware products and nearly a similar amount of software</a>. But all those items and services were based on just a handful of real technological advances, such as shifting from mechanical machines to those that relied on computer chips and software, and later to networks like the internet. The transitions between those advances took place far more slowly than the steady stream of new products might suggest.</p>
<p>These transitions from the mechanical, to the digital, and now to the networked reflected an ever-growing ability to collect and use greater amounts of information easily and quickly. IBM moved from manipulating statistical data to using technologies that teach themselves what people want and are interested in seeing.</p>
<h2>A focus that can adapt</h2>
<p>Between 1914 and 1918, IBM management decided that the business the company would be in was data processing. In more modern terms, that business has become “big data” and analytics. But it’s still collecting and organizing data, and performing calculations and computations on it.</p>
<p>Since the early 1920s, IBM has taken a disciplined approach to product development and research, focusing on developing the underpinning technologies for its data processing products. Nothing seemed to be done by accident.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1676&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1676&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259099/original/file-20190214-1730-rphrv0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1676&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A blue IBM punch card.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue-punch-card-front.png">Gwern/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In its first half-century, IBM’s basic technology platform from which many products emerged was the punch-card, yielding tabulators, card sorters, card readers and the famous <a href="https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/punchcard/">IBM Card</a>. In its second half-century, the basic technology platform was the computer, including mainframes, minicomputers, PCs and laptops. In its most recent 30 years, computer sales have brought in a declining share of the company’s total revenue, as IBM transitions to providing more internet-based services, including software and technical and managerial consulting.</p>
<p>The rise of each succeeding technology happened during the maturity and decline of its predecessor. IBM first started selling computers in the 1950s, but kept selling tabulating equipment that still used punch cards until the early 1960s. As recently as the early 1990s, <a href="https://www.ibm.com/investor/financials/financial-reporting.html">over 90 percent of IBM’s revenues</a> came from selling computers, though it was introducing new services like management and process consulting, information technology management and software sales.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until the end of 2018 that IBM announced that <a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2019-01-22-IBM-Reports-2018-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Results">50 percent of its business</a> now came from services and software, most of which were new offerings developed in the previous decade.</p>
<p>The news media – and even IBM employees – may have perceived that IBM was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobevans1/2017/06/15/inside-ibms-stunning-transformation-to-the-cloud-10-key-insights/">transforming itself quickly and frequently</a>. In fact the company had planted seeds for growth early and carefully tended new technologies until they bore fruit – fortunately, around the same time as earlier systems were ending their useful lives.</p>
<p>This strategic approach is not uncommon – Apple has been selling personal computers for <a href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/business/businesshistory/April/apple.html">more than 40 years</a>. Its management, of course, talks much more about its role in the smartphone business, which is <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/apples-earnings-stumble-could-improve-iphone/579445/">already beginning to level off</a>. Apple may soon need – or already be working on – a new technological focus to remain relevant.</p>
<h2>The future of the giants</h2>
<p>Microsoft, like Apple, evolved away from selling just computer software and operating systems. It started internet-based projects like its Bing search engine and OneDrive cloud storage – as well as providing <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2018/07/19/powering-our-customers-the-innovation-story-behind-microsofts-earnings/">cloud-based computing services</a> for businesses.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259121/original/file-20190214-1721-1du19ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">IBM is already exploring quantum computing, as a new frontier of data processing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ibm_research_zurich/23518086798">IBM Research</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Companies that started on the internet may also face similar transitions. Amazon, Google and Facebook at times claim to have transformed themselves, but haven’t yet fully left their original businesses. </p>
<p>Amazon still makes <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-amazon-makes-money-2017-12">most of its money</a> selling physical items online, though its internet-based cloud services division is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/amazon-earnings-q1-2018.html">growing rapidly</a>. Amazon has also invested in a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-hard-escape-amazons-long-reach/">wide range of other business</a> that might grow in the future, such as health care and entertainment content. </p>
<p>Google and Facebook still make most of their money <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-tech-isnt-one-big-monopoly-its-5-companies-all-in-different-businesses-92791">selling information about how users behave</a> to advertisers and groups that want to attract people to a particular point of view. Both are exploring other avenues, whether it’s Google’s <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/google-strategy-teardown/">self-driving cars</a> or Facebook’s <a href="http://panmore.com/facebook-inc-generic-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies">experiments with virtual reality</a>.</p>
<p>But at their core, all three internet giants are still finding new ways to capitalize on the vast quantities of information they accumulate about customers’ activities and interests – just as decades earlier IBM found new ways to use tabulating equipment and computers. If they’re to last decades or centuries into the future, the companies will need to probe, experiment and innovate to find new ways to profit as technologies change.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>James Cortada is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ibm">IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Cortada does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The history of IBM shows how a technology titan can grow and change, while still remaining focused on its core business.
James Cortada, Senior Research Fellow, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112268
2019-02-21T19:01:31Z
2019-02-21T19:01:31Z
‘Black Panther’ and its science role models inspire more than just movie awards
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260249/original/file-20190221-195873-1czfcxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=122%2C77%2C1252%2C694&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">King of a technologically advanced country, Black Panther is a scientific genius.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/mediaviewer/rm2447322112">© 2017 – Disney/Marvel Studios</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been said many times that the Marvel movie “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/">Black Panther</a>” is an important landmark. I’m not referring to its deserved critical and box office success worldwide, the many awards it has won, or the fact that it is the first film in the superhero genre to be <a href="https://oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2019">nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards</a>.</p>
<p>Instead, I’m focusing on a key aspect of its cultural impact that is less frequently discussed. Finally a feature film starring a black superhero character became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a successful run of intertwined movies that began with “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/">Iron Man</a>” in 2008. While there have been other superhero movies with a black lead character – “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448157/">Hancock</a>” (2008), “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120611/">Blade</a>” (1998), “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120177/">Spawn</a>” (1997) or even “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107563/">The Meteor Man</a>” (1993) – this film is significant because of the <a href="https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/the-rise-of-superhero-films/">recent remarkable rise of the superhero film</a> from the nerdish fringe to part of mainstream culture.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2017b.htm">Huge audiences</a> saw a black lead character – not a sidekick or part of a team – in a superhero movie by a major studio, with a black director (Ryan Coogler), black writers and a majority black cast. This is a significant step toward diversifying our culture by improving the <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/Dr_Stacy_L_Smith-Inequality_in_900_Popular_Films.pdf">lackluster representation</a> of minorities in our major media. It’s also a <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/research/aii/research/raceethnicity">filmmaking landmark because black creators</a> have been given access to the resources and platforms needed to bring different storytelling perspectives into our mainstream culture.</p>
<p>2017’s “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451279/">Wonder Woman</a>” forged a similar path. In that case, a major studio finally decided to commit resources to a superhero film headlined by a female character and directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins. Female directors are <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/inclusion-directors-chair">a minority in the movie industry</a>. Jenkins brought a new perspective to this kind of action movie, and there was a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/05/31/why-women-are-crying-when-they-watch-wonder-woman-fight/102328772/">huge positive response from audiences</a> in theaters worldwide.</p>
<p>And beyond all this, “Black Panther” also broke additional ground in a way most people may not realize: In the comics, the character is actually a scientist and engineer. Moreover, in the inevitable (and somewhat ridiculous) ranking of scientific prowess that happens in the comic book world, he’s been portrayed as at least the equal of the two most famous “top scientists” in the Marvel universe: Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic). A black headlining superhero character written and directed by black artists is rare enough from a major studio. But making him – and his sister Shuri – successful scientists and engineers as well is another level of rarity.</p>
<h2>Scientists on screen</h2>
<p>I’m a scientist who cares about increased engagement with science by the general public. I’ve worked as <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/film/physicist-dr-clifford-v-johnson-is-a-consultant-on-superhero-movies-8232890">a science adviser on many film and TV projects</a> (though not “Black Panther”). When the opportunity arises, I’ve <a href="https://creativefuture.org/science-advisor-conversation-dr-clifford-johnson/">helped broaden the diversity of scientist characters</a> portrayed onscreen.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205377/original/file-20180207-74512-hw1u6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jason Wilkes is a black scientist on ‘Agent Carter,’ whose character emerged from the author’s talks with the show’s writers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABC Television</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205375/original/file-20180207-74512-zdpjdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Panels from ‘The Dialogues,’ including a black female scientist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">'The Dialogues,' by Clifford V. Johnson (MIT Press 2017)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve also recently published a <a href="http://thedialoguesbook.com/">nonfiction graphic book</a> for general audiences called “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/dialogues-0">The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe</a>.” Its characters include male and female black scientists, discussing aspects of my own field of theoretical physics – where black scientists are <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/data.cfm">unfortunately very rare</a>. So the opportunity that the “Black Panther” movie presents to inform and inspire vast audiences is of great interest to me.</p>
<p>The history and evolution of the Black Panther character and his scientific back story is a fascinating example of turning a problematic past into a positive opportunity.</p>
<p>Created in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he’s the first black superhero character in mainstream comics, <a href="https://comicvine.gamespot.com/fantastic-four-52-introducing-the-sensational-blac/4000-8666/">originally appearing as a guest</a> in a “Fantastic Four” Marvel comic. As a black character created and initially written by nonblack authors, guest-starring in the pages of a book headlined by white characters, he had many of the classic attributes of what is now sometimes controversially known as the “<a href="https://www.salon.com/2010/09/14/magical_negro_trope/">magical negro</a>” in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934707307831">American cultural criticism</a>: He ranked extremely highly in every sphere that mattered, to the point of being almost too unreal even for the comics of the time.</p>
<p>Black Panther is T’Challa, king of the fictional African country Wakanda, which is fathomlessly wealthy and remarkably advanced, scientifically and technologically. Even Marvel’s legendary master scientist – Reed Richards of the superhero team Fantastic Four – is befuddled by and full of admiration for Wakanda’s scientific capabilities. T’Challa himself is portrayed as an extraordinary “genius” in physics and other scientific fields, a peerless tactician, a remarkable athlete and a master of numerous forms of martial arts. And he is noble to a fault. Of course, he grows to become a powerful ally of the Fantastic Four and other Marvel superheroes over many adventures.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205406/original/file-20180207-74473-hjn59z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While likening Black Panther to a ‘refugee from a Tarzan movie,’ the Fantastic Four marveled at his technological innovations in ‘Introducing the Sensational Black Panther.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). [Marvel Comics]</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The key point here is that the superlative scientific ability of our hero, and that of his country, has its origins in the well-meaning, but problematic, practice of inventing near or beyond perfect black characters to support stories starring primarily white protagonists. But this is a lemons-to-lemonade story.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205407/original/file-20180207-74476-yuoi9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Fantastic Four were amazed by the scientific ingenuity of Wakanda in ‘Whosoever Finds The Evil Eye.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fantastic Four #54 (September 1966). [Marvel Comics]</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Black Panther eventually got to star in his own series of comics. He was turned into a nuanced and complex character, moving well away from the tropes of his beginnings. Writer Don McGregor’s work started this development as early as 1973, but Black Panther’s journey to the multilayered character you see on screen was greatly advanced by the efforts of several writers with diverse perspectives. Perhaps most notably, in the context of the film, these include Christopher Priest (late 1990s) and Ta-Nehisi Coates (starting in 2016), along with Roxane Gay and Yona Harvey, writing in “World of Wakanda” (2016). Coates and Gay, already best-selling literary writers before coming to the character, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/books/black-panther-marvel-comics-roxane-gay-ta-nehisi-coates-wakanda.html?_r=0">helped bring him to wider attention</a> beyond normal comic book fandom, partly paving the way for the movie.</p>
<p>Through all of the improved writing of T'Challa and his world, his spectacular scientific ability has remained prominent. Wakanda continues to be a successful African nation with astonishing science and technology. Furthermore, and very importantly, T'Challa is not portrayed as an anomaly among his people in this regard. There are many great scientists and engineers in the Wakanda of the comics, including his sister Shuri. In some accounts, she (in the continued scientist-ranking business of comics) is an even greater intellect than he is. In the movie, T’Challa’s science and engineering abilities are referred to, but it is his sister Shuri who takes center stage in this role, having taken over to design the new tools and weapons he uses in the field. She also uses Wakandan science to heal wounds that would have been fatal elsewhere in the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205385/original/file-20180207-74506-voxz8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Panther isn’t an isolated genius – his half-sister Shuri is a technological wiz herself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://collider.com/black-panther-things-to-know/">Marvel Studios</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>If they can do it, then why not me?</h2>
<p>As a scientist who cares about inspiring more people – including underrepresented minorities and women – <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-ways-scientists-can-help-put-science-back-into-popular-culture-84955">to engage with science</a>, I think that showing a little of this scientific landscape in “Black Panther” potentially amplifies the movie’s cultural impact.</p>
<p>Vast audiences see black heroes – both men and women – using their scientific ability to solve problems and make their way in the world, at an unrivaled level. <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/daphna-oyserman/identity/">Research has shown</a> that such representation can have a positive effect on the interests, outlook and career trajectories of viewers.</p>
<p>Improving science education for all is a core endeavor in a nation’s competitiveness and overall health, but outcomes are limited if people aren’t inspired to take an interest in science in the first place. There simply are <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/research/aii/research/raceethnicity">not enough images of black scientists</a> – male or female – in our media and entertainment to help inspire. Many people from underrepresented groups end up genuinely believing that scientific investigation is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2002.tb18217.x">not a career path open to them</a>.</p>
<p>Moreover, many people still see the dedication and study needed to excel in science as “nerdy.” A cultural injection of Black Panther heroics helps continue to erode the crumbling tropes that science is <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-people-think-man-when-they-think-scientist-how-can-we-kill-the-stereotype-42393">only for white men</a> or reserved for <a href="https://theconversation.com/beliefs-about-innate-talent-may-dissuade-students-from-stem-42967">people with a special “science gene.”</a></p>
<p>The huge widespread success of the “Black Panther” movie, showcasing T'Challa, Shuri and other Wakandans as highly accomplished scientists, remains one of the most significant boosts for science engagement in recent times.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-superpower-of-black-panther-scientist-role-models-91042">an article originally published</a> on Feb. 8, 2018.</em></p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Clifford V. Johnson is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/dialogues-1">The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
The film wowed critics and fans. But its hidden power may be black lead characters who are accomplished scientists – just the thing to help inspire future generations to follow in their footsteps.
Clifford Johnson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111873
2019-02-20T11:36:44Z
2019-02-20T11:36:44Z
Don’t be fooled by fake images and videos online
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259149/original/file-20190214-1758-pee9gf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nope, not a real news report from Hurricane Irma.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hurricane-now-contains-sharks/">Snopes</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One month before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, an “Access Hollywood” recording of Donald Trump was released in which he was heard lewdly talking about women. The then-candidate and his campaign apologized and dismissed the remarks as harmless. </p>
<p>At the time, the authenticity of the recording was never questioned. Just a few years later, the public finds itself in a dramatically different landscape in terms of believing what it sees and hears.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.elsevier.com/connect/the-greatest-advances-in-ai-the-experts-view">Advances in artificial intelligence</a> have made it easier to create compelling and sophisticated fake images, videos and audio recordings. Meanwhile, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559">misinformation proliferates on social media</a>, and a polarized public <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber">may have become</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2017/dec/04/echo-chambers-are-dangerous-we-must-try-to-break-free-of-our-online-bubbles">accustomed to being fed news that conforms to their worldview</a>. </p>
<p>All contribute to a climate in which it is increasingly more difficult to believe what you see and hear online.</p>
<p>There are some things that you can do to protect yourself from falling for a hoax. As the author of the book “Fake Photos” I’d like to offer a few tips to protect yourself from falling for a hoax.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"977959864042491905"}"></div></p>
<h2>1. Check if the image has already been debunked</h2>
<p>Many fake images are recirculated and have previously been debunked. A reverse image search is a simple and effective way to see how an image has previously been used. </p>
<p>Unlike a typical internet search in which keywords are specified, a reverse image search on <a href="https://images.google.com">Google</a> or <a href="https://tineye.com">TinEye</a> can search for the same or similar images in a vast database. </p>
<p>Reverse image search engines cannot exhaustively index the vastly expansive, ever-changing content on the internet. So, even if the image is on the internet, there is no guarantee that it will have been found by the site. In this regard, not finding an image doesn’t mean it’s real – or fake.</p>
<p>You can improve the likelihood of a match by cropping the image to contain only the region of interest. Because this search requires you to upload images to a commercial site, take care when uploading any sensitive images.</p>
<h2>2. Check the metadata</h2>
<p>Digital images often contain rich metadata that can provide clues as to their provenance and authenticity. </p>
<p>Metadata is data about data. The metadata for a digital image includes the camera make and model; camera settings like aperture size and exposure time; the date and time when the image was captured; the GPS location where the image was captured; and much more. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259341/original/file-20190215-56226-mdvbcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">EXIF data offers clues about this photograph of a flower.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pelargonium_flower.jpg">Original image from Andreas Dobler/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The importance of the date, time and location tags is self-evident. Other tags may have a similarly straightforward interpretation. For example, photo-editing software may introduce a tag that identifies the software, or date and time tags that are inconsistent with other tags. </p>
<p>Several tags provide information about camera settings. A gross inconsistency between the image properties implied by these settings and the actual properties of the image provides evidence that the image has been manipulated. For example, the exposure time and aperture size tags provide a qualitative measure of the light levels in the photographed scene. A short exposure time and small aperture suggest a scene with high light levels taken during the day, while a long exposure time and large aperture suggest a scene with low light levels taken at night or indoors. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1082328457269469184"}"></div></p>
<p>The metadata is stored in the image file and can be readily extracted with various programs. However, some online services strip out much of an image’s metadata, so the absence of metadata is not uncommon. When the metadata is intact, however, it can be highly informative.</p>
<h2>3. Recognize what can and can’t be faked</h2>
<p>When assessing if an image or video is authentic, it is important to understand what is and what is not possible to fake. </p>
<p>For example, an image of two people standing shoulder to shoulder is relatively easy to create by splicing together two images. So is an image of a shark swimming next to a surfer. On the other hand, an image of two people embracing is harder to create, because the complex interaction is difficult to fake. </p>
<p>While modern artificial intelligence can produce highly compelling fakes – often called <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/01/business/pentagons-race-against-deepfakes/">deepfakes</a> – this is primarily restricted to changing the face and voice in a video, not the entire body. So it is possible to create a good fake of someone saying something that they never did, but not necessarily performing a physical act that they never did. This, however, will surely change in the coming years.</p>
<h2>4. Beware of sharks</h2>
<p>After more than two decades in digital forensics, I’ve come to the conclusion that viral images with sharks are almost always fake. Beware of spectacular shark photos.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1040602569889013760"}"></div></p>
<h2>5. Help fight misinformation</h2>
<p>Fake images and videos have led to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html">horrific violence around the globe, manipulation of democratic elections and civil unrest</a>. The prevalence of misinformation also now allows anyone to cry “fake news” in response to any news story with which they disagree. </p>
<p>I believe that it’s critical for the technology sector to make broad and deep changes to content moderation policies. The titans of tech can no longer ignore the direct and measurable harm that has come from <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-killing-democracy-with-its-personality-profiling-data-93611">the weaponization of their products</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, those who are developing technology that can be used to easily create sophisticated fakes must think more carefully about how their technology can be abused and how to put some safeguards in place to prevent abuse. And, the digital forensic community must continue to develop tools to quickly and accurately detect fake images, videos and audio.</p>
<p>Lastly, everyone must change how they consume and spread content online. When reading stories online, be diligent and consider the source; the New York Evening (a fake news site) is not the same as The New York Times. Always be cautious of the wonderfully satirical stories from The Onion that often get mistaken for real news.</p>
<p>Check the date of each story. Many fake stories continue to recirculate years after their introduction, like a nasty virus that just won’t die. Recognize that many headlines are designed to grab your attention – read beyond the headline to make sure that the story is what it appears to be. The news that you read on social media is algorithmically fed to you based on your prior consumption, creating an echo chamber that exposes you only to stories that conform to your existing views. </p>
<p>Finally, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Make every effort to fact-check stories with reliable secondary and tertiary sources, particularly before sharing.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Hany Farid is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/photo-forensics">Photo Forensics</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111873/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
It’s easier than ever to create a fake image and spread it far and wide online. But there are steps that you can take to protect yourself from fishy photos.
Hany Farid, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/109315
2019-01-28T11:42:38Z
2019-01-28T11:42:38Z
Can you life-hack your way to love?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254395/original/file-20190117-32816-d1o87a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=154%2C94%2C4338%2C3300&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">True love could be hiding inside mounds of data.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/binary-code-technology-159345566">xtock/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s never been a shortage of dating advice from family, friends and self-help authors. Yet in the digital age, people are turning to nerdy hacker-types as guides. </p>
<p>At first, they might seem like an odd source of romantic advice, but think again: Computer programmers created the systems of quizzes, swipes and algorithms that <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-fam-seniors-online-dating-apps-0108-story.html">millions rely on for matchmaking</a>. Who better to explain how to make the most of these digital tools?</p>
<p>This new approach to dating takes advantage of the power of data. “<a href="https://amywebb.io/bio/">Quantitative futurist</a>” Amy Webb, for instance, created a handful of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/312359/data-a-love-story-by-amy-webb/9780142180457/">fake accounts depicting the types of men</a> she wanted to marry and learned what her highly-rated competitors’ profiles looked like. After applying these insights to her own profile, she became the most popular woman on JDate, an online dating site for Jewish people. Mathematician Christopher McKinlay similarly hacked his profile on OkCupid and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Cupid-Mastering-Hidden-OkCupid/dp/1495334244">crawled thousands of profiles</a> to identify the clusters of women he most wanted to target. </p>
<p>With hundreds of candidates in hand, both had to then filter the field: Webb created a sophisticated spreadsheet, and McKinlay <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/01/how-to-hack-okcupid/">went on 88 dates</a>.
In the end, each found a spouse.</p>
<p>All of this is part of a new approach to life, as a thing to be <a href="https://lifehacker.com/">hacked and optimized</a> by way of a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02self-measurement-t.html">quantified self</a>.</p>
<p>People track what they eat, the hours they work, the items they own and countless other details, hoping to experience better health, improved productivity and greater contentment. However, in my forthcoming book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hacking-life">Hacking Life: Systematized Living and its Discontents</a>,” I reveal how the quest for the optimum path can lead you astray. In the case of dating, trying to optimize can be foolishly naive and misunderstand the nature of the task.</p>
<h2>Counting on love</h2>
<p>Consider the case of former software engineer Valerie Aurora, who in 2015 returned to the dispiriting task of online dating. This time, she hoped she might make the <a href="https://blog.valerieaurora.org/2015/09/07/how-to-have-more-fun-while-online-dating/">experience palatable, fun even, by hacking dating</a>. <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_webb_how_i_hacked_online_dating">Inspired by Webb</a>, Aurora <a href="http://blog.valerieaurora.org/2015/12/20/between-the-spreadsheets-dating-by-the-numbers/">developed a spreadsheet</a> for ranking candidates with positive and negative attributes, including flaws that were so bad they were “dealbreakers.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254407/original/file-20190117-32819-i3qd91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Love is grown, not found.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tree-love-113194780">LilKar/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, with experience, Aurora realized that she had been too inflexible about dealbreakers. She <a href="http://blog.valerieaurora.org/2015/12/20/between-the-spreadsheets-dating-by-the-numbers/">wrote</a>, “I am now in a happy relationship with someone who had six of what I labeled ‘dealbreakers’ when we met. And if he hadn’t been interested in working those issues out with me, we would not be dating today. But he was, and working together we managed to resolve all six of them to our mutual satisfaction.”</p>
<p>It is a mistake to believe that an ideal match is somewhere out there, just waiting to be rated and ranked. Instead, people invest and grow in their relationship. A good match can be found, but psychology research suggests <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201508/great-relationships-require-hard-work-not-forever">a good relationship is made</a>.</p>
<h2>Searching far and wide</h2>
<p>Taking a data-centric approach can also lead to a never-ending search.
Technology entrepreneur Sebastian Stadil went on <a href="https://medium.com/the-mission/looking-for-the-one-how-i-went-on-150-dates-in-4-months-bf43a095516c">150 dates in four months</a> – more than one a day! At the end, he wrote, “I still believe technology can hack love, though that belief is likely irrational.” He <a href="https://medium.com/the-mission/looking-for-the-one-how-i-went-on-150-dates-in-4-months-bf43a095516c">confessed</a> that “having more matches increased my odds of finding someone interesting, but it also became an addiction. The possibility of meeting that many people made me want to meet every one of them, to make sure I wouldn’t miss the One.”</p>
<p>It’s a paradox of choice in the digital age: A better match could be just one more date – and data-point – away. Hackers who know their computer science recognize this as the puzzle of “<a href="https://www.math.ucla.edu/%7Etom/Stopping/Contents.html">optimal stopping</a>,” which seeks to determine how long someone should hold out for a better option.</p>
<p>There is no perfect solution, but there is a reasonable formula: Figure out your parameters, like how soon you want to be in a relationship and how many dates you want to go on in search of the right person. Say you’ve given yourself a year and 100 dates – two a week. The math says you should <a href="https://plus.maths.org/content/mathematical-dating">go on dates with 37 percent</a> of them without committing, and then – after the 37th person and about four and a half months – pursue the first person who’s better than all the others you’ve met.</p>
<p><iframe id="idr6l" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/idr6l/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Of course, this still assumes that the problem of starting a relationship is a matter of quantity, measurement and optimization. Aurora’s experience suggests that making a match is as much about interpersonal negotiation as it is about data and analysis.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Joseph Reagle is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hacking-life">Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Reagle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Trying to optimize the search for love can be naive. Using statistics and measurements isn’t necessarily the best way to find a human partner.
Joseph Reagle, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Northeastern University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/105341
2019-01-22T11:50:24Z
2019-01-22T11:50:24Z
Why paper maps still matter in the digital age
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252723/original/file-20190107-32154-l0hoxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Which is the right map for you?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smartphone-gps-navigator-on-map-221670307?src=XULtNFy8CA4ZZptUszOz6g-1-40">Icatnews/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ted Florence is ready for his family trip to Botswana. He has looked up his hotel on Google Maps and downloaded a digital map of the country to his phone. He has also packed a large paper map. “I travel all over the world,” says Florence, the president of the international board of the <a href="https://imiamaps.org/">International Map Industry Association</a> and <a href="https://www.avenzamaps.com/">Avenza Maps</a>, a digital map software company. “Everywhere I go, my routine is the same: I get a paper map, and I keep it in my back pocket.”</p>
<p>With the proliferation of smartphones, it’s easy to assume that the era of the paper map is over. That attitude, that digital is better than print, is what I call “technochauvinism.” In my book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/artificial-unintelligence">Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World</a>,” I look at how technochauvinism has been used to create an unnecessary, occasionally harmful bias for digital over print or any other kind of interface. A glance at the research reveals that the paper map still thrives in the digital era, and there are distinct advantages to using print maps. </p>
<h2>Your brain on maps</h2>
<p>Cognitive researchers generally make a distinction between surface knowledge and deep knowledge. Experts have deep knowledge of a subject or a geography; amateurs have surface knowledge. </p>
<p>Digital interfaces are good for acquiring surface knowledge. Answering the question, “How do I get from the airport to my hotel in a new-to-me city?” is a pragmatic problem that requires only shallow information to answer. If you’re traveling to a city for only 24 hours for a business meeting, there’s usually no need to learn much about a city’s layout. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253315/original/file-20190110-43510-1m5ejgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physically handling a map can help you remember a route better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pointing-finger-map-sunny-day-closeup-283602878?src=CacahIcB06KZod0DmNOg4Q-1-2">Veles Studio/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When you live in a place, or you want to travel meaningfully, deep knowledge of the geography will help you to navigate it and to understand its culture and history. Print maps help you acquire deep knowledge faster and more efficiently. In experiments, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">people who read on paper consistently demonstrate better reading comprehension</a> than people who read the same material on a screen. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551512470043">A 2013 study</a> showed that, as a person’s geographic skill increases, so does their preference for paper maps.</p>
<p>For me, the difference between deep knowledge and surface knowledge is the difference between what I know about New York City, where I have lived for years, and San Francisco, which I have visited only a handful of times. In New York, I can tell you where all the neighborhoods are and which train lines to take and speculate about whether the prevalence of Manhattan schist in the geological substrate influenced the heights of the buildings that are in Greenwich Village versus Midtown. I’ve invested a lot of time in looking at both paper and digital maps of New York. In San Francisco, I’ve only ever used digital maps to navigate from point to point. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know where anything is in the Bay Area. </p>
<p>Our brains encode knowledge as what scientists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">a cognitive map</a>. In psychology-speak, I lack a cognitive map of San Francisco. </p>
<p>“When the human brain gathers visual information about an object, it also gathers information about its surroundings, and associates the two,” wrote communication researchers Jinghui Hou, Justin Rashid and Kwan Min Lee <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.10.014">in a 2017 study</a>. “In a similar manner to how people construct a mental map of a physical environment (e.g., a desk in the center of an office facing the door), readers form a ‘cognitive map’ of the physical location of a text and its spatial relationship to the text as a whole.” </p>
<p>Reading in print makes it easier for the brain to encode knowledge and to remember things. Sensory cues, like unfolding the complicated folds of a paper map, help create that cognitive map in the brain and help the brain to retain the knowledge.</p>
<p>The same is true for a simple practice like tracing out a hiking route on a paper map with your finger. The physical act of moving your arm and feeling the paper under your finger <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/smarter-living/memory-tricks-mnemonics.html">gives your brain haptic and sensorimotor cues</a> that contribute to the formation and retention of the cognitive map.</p>
<h2>Map mistakes</h2>
<p>Another factor in the paper versus digital debate is accuracy. Obviously, a good digital map is better than a bad paper map, just like a good paper map is better than a bad digital map. </p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@mitpress/3-recommendations-to-combat-technochauvinism-9099b257b92c">Technochauvinists</a> may believe that all digital maps are good, but just as in the paper world, the accuracy of digital maps depends entirely on the level of detail and fact-checking invested by the company making the map.</p>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/business/la-fi-tn-apple-google-maps-lost-20121220">2012 survey by the crowdsourcing company Crowdflower</a> found that Google Maps accurately located 89 percent of businesses, while Apple Maps correctly found 74 percent. This isn’t surprising, as Google <a href="https://www.google.com/streetview/understand/">invests millions in sending people</a> around the world to map terrain for Google StreetView. Google Maps are good because the company invests time, money and human effort in making its maps good – not because digital maps are inherently better.</p>
<p>Fanatical attention to detail is necessary to keep digital maps up to date, as conditions in the real world change constantly. Companies like Google are constantly updating their maps, and will have to do so regularly for as long as they continue to publish. The maintenance required for digital content is substantial – <a href="https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/601767-maps-obsolete.html">a cost that technochauvinists often ignore</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253316/original/file-20190110-43538-1nospyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What to do when your map doesn’t match up with the real world?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blank-road-sign-on-highway-add-173237231?src=GEZpqwok0ez6jnO04QyYqw-1-7">kanvag/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In my view, it’s easier to forgive the errors in a paper map. Physical maps usually include an easily visible publication date so users can see when the map was published. (When was the last time you noticed the date-of-last-update on your car navigation system?) When you are passively following the spoken GPS directions of a navigation system, and there is, say, an unmarked exit, it confuses the GPS system and causes chaos among the people in the car. (Especially the backseat drivers.)</p>
<h2>The best map for the job</h2>
<p>Some of the deeper flaws of digital maps are not readily apparent to the public. Digital systems, including cartographic ones, are more interconnected than most people realize. Mistakes, which are inevitable, can go viral and create more trouble than anyone anticipates.</p>
<p>For example: Reporter Kashmir Hill has written about a Kansas farm in the geographic center of the U.S. that has been <a href="https://splinternews.com/how-an-internet-mapping-glitch-turned-a-random-kansas-f-1793856052">plagued by legal trouble and physical harassment</a>, because a digital cartography database mistakenly uses the farm’s location as a default every time the database can’t identify the real answer. </p>
<p>“As a result, for the last 14 years, every time MaxMind’s database has been queried about the location of an IP address in the U.S. it can’t identify, it has spit out the default location of a spot two hours away from the geographic center of the country,” Hill wrote. “This happens a lot: 5,000 companies rely on MaxMind’s IP mapping information, and in all, there are now over 600 million IP addresses associated with that default coordinate.” </p>
<p>A technochauvinist mindset assumes everything in the future will be digital. But what happens if a major company like Google stops offering its maps? What happens when a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/19/16910378/government-shutdown-2018-nasa-spacex-iss-falcon-heavy">government shutdown</a> means that <a href="http://satnews.com/story.php?number=827160505">satellite data</a> powering smartphone GPS systems isn’t transmitted? Right now, ambulances and fire trucks can keep a road atlas in the front seat in case electronic navigation fails. If society doesn’t maintain physical maps, first responders won’t be able to get to addresses when there is a fire or someone is critically ill. </p>
<p>Interrupting a country’s GPS signals is also a realistic cyberwarfare tactic. The U.S. Navy has resumed training new recruits in <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11931403/US-navy-returns-to-celestial-navigation-amid-fears-of-computer-hack.html">celestial navigation</a>, a technique that dates back to ancient Greece, as a guard against when the digital grid gets hacked. </p>
<p>Ultimately, I don’t think it should be a competition between physical and digital. In the future, people will continue to need both kinds of maps. Instead of arguing whether paper or digital is a better map interface, people should consider what map is the right tool for the task. </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Meredith Broussard is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/artificial-unintelligence">Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct the name of Avenza Maps.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105341/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
If you want to really learn your way around a new place, paper maps still trump digital options.
Meredith Broussard, Assistant Professor of Journalism, New York University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/107428
2018-12-12T11:42:38Z
2018-12-12T11:42:38Z
Don’t worry about screen time – focus on how you use technology
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249815/original/file-20181210-76977-1c28o2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C33%2C5615%2C3699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Through creative off-label uses of technology, some people have improved close relationships and their health.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/pixel-girl-peeps-out-phone-720066970">KristinaZ/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Americans find themselves bombarded by expert advice to limit their screen time and break their addictions to digital devices – including enforcing and modeling this restraint for the children in their lives. However, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8bP4OqUAAAAJ&hl=en">over 15 years</a> of closely observing people and talking with them about how they use technological tools, I’ve developed a more nuanced view: Whether a technology helps or hurts someone depends not just on the amount of time they spend with it but on how they use it.</p>
<p>I’ve found many people who have found impressively creative ways to tailor the technologies they have to serve their values and personal objectives, improving their relationships and even their health.</p>
<p>In my forthcoming book, “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/left-our-own-devices">Left to Our Own Devices</a>,” I introduce readers to people who pushed products beyond their intended purpose, creating their own off-label uses. Some of them turned self-help products, like smart scales and mood apps, into mechanisms for deepening relationships; others used apps like Tinder, designed to spark interpersonal connection, as an emotional pickup – gathering data to feel better about themselves without the hookup. And still others have pieced together different tools and technologies to suit their own needs.</p>
<h2>Looking beyond the rules</h2>
<p>A few years ago, for instance, my colleagues and I <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1371">created an app to help people manage stress</a> as part of a health technology research project. Psychotherapy and other mental health services have traditionally been offered as individual treatments, and so we expected people would use our app on their own, when they were alone. We put a great deal of effort into assuring privacy and instructed people who participated in our research that the app was for their use only.</p>
<p>But many of the participants ended up bringing the app into their conversations with others. One woman used it with her son to process a heated argument they had earlier in the day. She sat down with him and together explored the visuals in the app that represented stages of anger. They followed the app’s cognitive therapy cues for thinking about feelings and reactions – their own and each other’s. She shared it with him not as a flashy distraction, but as a bridge to help each understand the other’s perspectives and feelings.</p>
<p>The app was intended to help her change the way she thought about stress, but she also used it to address the source of her stress – making the app more effective by, in a certain sense, misusing it.</p>
<h2>New turns with familiar devices</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250033/original/file-20181211-76971-12cj5ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Controlling the lights can send a message.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mobile-phone-womans-hand-night-city-157563695">LDprod/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another woman I spoke with took smart lights – the ones that can change color at the tap of a button in a smartphone app – far beyond their intended functions of improving decor and energy efficiency. When she changed the color of the lights in the home she shared with her partner from white to red, it was a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3027063.3053141">signal that she was upset</a> and that they needed to talk. The light color became an external symbol of the conflict between them and provided a new way to begin a difficult conversation. </p>
<p>Similarly creative thinking helped strengthen the relationships between patients and a physician I interviewed. She practiced primarily through telemedicine, meeting with patients via a secure medical videoconferencing system. She was aware that physical and emotional distance could weaken a relationship already fraught with sensitivity and an imbalance of power between an expert and a patient.</p>
<p>So she experimented with the view her camera provided of her and her surroundings. First, she showed patients a view of just her face, in front of an unadorned white wall that revealed nothing about her. Then she shifted the camera to show more of her home, which of course revealed more of herself. Patients could now see some of the art that she liked as well as elements of her home, which said something about her habits, values and personality. </p>
<p>This sharing leveled the playing field in some ways. As patients were opening up themselves to her by describing symptoms and the details of their lifestyle, they could see that she was not a lab-coat-clad expert issuing directives from an intimidating medical office – she was a real person living in an ordinary apartment. This step toward reciprocity made it easier for patients to relate to her. She believes this is part of why her patients have expressed feeling close to her and so much trust in her treatment. It was a small adaptation that brought greater rapport and connection to a technology often viewed as a poor replacement for in-person meetings.</p>
<p>With increasing attention to the effects of technologies, we should not only be concerned with their potential harms. As I’ve observed, experimenting with how – not just how much – we use technology might uncover unexpected ways to make life better.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Margaret E. Morris is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/left-our-own-devices">Left to Our Own Devices: Outsmarting Smart Technology to Reclaim Our Relationships, Health, and Focus</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107428/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret E. Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Whether a technology helps or hurts people depends not on how much time they spend with it, but how they use it.
Margaret E. Morris, Affiliate Faculty in Human Centered Design and Engineering, University of Washington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/106039
2018-11-27T11:40:42Z
2018-11-27T11:40:42Z
Instagram posts suggest e-scooter companies like Bird aren’t promoting safe riding to newbies
<p>Since <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-30/the-bloody-consequences-of-the-electric-scooter-revolution">emerging</a> in the U.S. last year, electric scooters have become an <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/27/17676670/electric-scooter-rental-bird-lime-skip-spin-cities">increasingly popular</a> way for people to travel short distances, thanks to their speed and convenience. But they’ve also <a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-scooters-on-collision-course-with-pedestrians-and-lawmakers-99654">generated controversy and concerns</a> about their safety. </p>
<p>Recently, nine people who say they’ve been injured by e-scooters filed a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/10/20/class-action-lawsuit-accuses-e-scooter-companies-gross-negligence/">class-action lawsuit</a> against startups Bird and Lime, accusing them of “gross negligence,” “aiding and abetting assault” and failing to include adequate safety instructions for riders. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zAFlXaQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I study</a> ways to inform public health and policy by using data from social media. Research shows that the ways in which companies promote and demonstrate use of their products or services through social media <a href="http://doi.org/10.1509/jm.14.0249">influences consumer behavior</a>. </p>
<p>Instagram in particular has become an <a href="https://clickfirstmarketing.com/instagram-a-powerful-marketing-tool/">important way</a> for startups like Bird to communicate with their customers. And since the company <a href="https://www.bird.co/safety/">calls safety</a> its “obsession,” my <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=l8xJ4SEAAAAJ&hl=en">colleague</a> and I wanted to determine how well it telegraphed this to its followers.</p>
<h2>Riding risks</h2>
<p>E-scooters are a relatively new phenomenon in the ride-share economy. </p>
<p>Customers typically must download applications onto their smartphones, which then direct them to the nearest e-scooter available for rent. Riders can travel at speeds of up to 15 miles an hour and then abandon the scooter once they’ve reached their destination, wherever convenient. </p>
<p>But that convenience has a cost. Powered two-wheelers are extremely <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2013.3253">vulnerable to road risks</a>. <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/e-scooter-injuries-are-becoming-common-in-emergency-rooms">Hundreds</a> of riders and pedestrians <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-30/the-bloody-consequences-of-the-electric-scooter-revolution">have been injured</a> by e-scooters, and three have died. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BowiwH7F689/?taken-by=bird","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Bird’s Instagram feed</h2>
<p>My colleague and I conducted a study that looks at the ways Bird portrays the use of its e-scooters to customers. It was recently published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335518302717?via%3Dihub">Preventive Medicine Reports</a>.</p>
<p>We chose Bird because it’s among the largest e-scooter-sharing companies, operating in 30 U.S. cities with plans to expand across the globe. It’s <a href="https://www.inc.com/business-insider/scooter-company-bird-doubles-valuation-2-billion-unicorn-startup.html">valued at US$2 billion</a>, has more than 69,000 followers on its <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bird/?hl=en">Instagram account</a> and has <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/07/202927/bird-lime-scooter-expansion">been praised</a> for its use of social media in distinguishing itself from competitors. </p>
<p>We analyzed all 324 posts to Bird’s account from Sept. 22, 2017, through November 9, 2018. If there were any people in the photo, we examined whether there was an e-scooter visible and whether the individuals were wearing any protective gear, such as a helmet, wrist guards or elbow and knee pads. We then looked at the comment section to see if protective gear or safety was mentioned. </p>
<p>We found that 69 percent of the 324 posts contained a person visible with a Bird e-scooter. Of those, only 6.2 percent showed someone wearing any protective gear. About 6.8 percent of the images displayed safety gear in the background. Just 1.5 percent of the posts mentioned safety in the comment box.</p>
<p>Over two-thirds of the posts to Bird’s Instagram account were reposts from customers, suggesting that documenting their actual experience with e-scooters is part of the company’s marketing plan. </p>
<p>Bird offers <a href="https://www.bird.co/safety">free helmets</a> to all active riders (as long as they cover shipping) and explicitly encourages them to wear one. </p>
<p>Yet by reposting its customers’ photos without wearing protective gear, Bird sends a signal to its followers that it approves of customers riding without a helmet.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BpkC1ooF0t1/?taken-by=bird","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Scooter safety</h2>
<p>So what to make of this?</p>
<p>Our findings are limited to one social media account from a single e-scooter company and do not consider Bird’s other ways of communicating with its customers. Traditional survey-based research is still needed to document the use of protective gear while operating these two-wheelers.</p>
<p>But at a minimum, our findings suggest that one of the leading e-scooter-sharing companies is not emphasizing the safe use of its products as a part of its promotional activities on Instagram. </p>
<p>And lawmakers appear to be following suit. A new <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2989">California law</a>, <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/bird-goes-after-helmet-laws-for-electric-scooters/">sponsored by the e-scooter industry</a>, <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2018/9/21/17884220/bird-lime-scooters-rules-helmets-california">will allow adults</a> to ride without a helmet and all users to travel on sidewalks, overturning previous rules. </p>
<p>Given the growing number of injuries and even deaths that have been reported involving e-scooters, I believe it may be up to health officials to emphasize the importance of using protective gear and following safe riding practices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon-Patrick Allem receives funding from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and the National Institutes of Health. MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Motorized scooters that can travel up to 15 miles per hour have soared in popularity over the past year, as have concerns about their safety.
Jon-Patrick Allem, Research Scientist, University of Southern California
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/106049
2018-11-19T11:38:05Z
2018-11-19T11:38:05Z
Lies, damn lies and post-truth
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245549/original/file-20181114-194500-15qdygi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside of the White House.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump/a685593769a14d5084fbe96c2ffd0db8/305/0">AP/Evan Vucci</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/campaign-stops/all-politicians-lie-some-lie-more-than-others.html">politicians lie</a>.</p>
<p>Or do they? </p>
<p>Even if we could find some isolated example of a politician who was scrupulously honest – <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/403945-former-president-jimmy-carter-trump-is">former President Jimmy Carter</a>, perhaps – the question is how to think about the rest of them. </p>
<p>And if most politicians lie, then why are some Americans so hard on President Donald Trump? </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/02/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.df1dbfb544fb">The Washington Post</a>, Trump has told 6,420 lies so far in his presidency. In the seven weeks leading up to the midterms, his rate increased to 30 per day. </p>
<p>That’s a lot, but isn’t this a difference in degree and not a difference in kind with other politicians?</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245620/original/file-20181114-194494-araab3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Women’s March in Toronto, Canada, January 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toronto-ontario-canada-january-20-2018-1005749914?src=hgt8fR9jX9ZR-icYo4iQFQ-1-2">Shutterstock/Louis.Roth</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From my perspective <a href="http://www.leemcintyrebooks.com/">as a philosopher who studies truth and belief</a>, it doesn’t seem so. And even if most politicians lie, that doesn’t make all lying equal. </p>
<p>Yet the difference in Trump’s prevarication seems to be found not in the quantity or enormity of his lies, but in the way that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/05/opinion/beyond-lying-donald-trumps-authoritarian-reality.html">Trump uses his lies in service</a> to a proto-authoritarian political ideology. </p>
<p>I recently wrote a book, titled “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/post-truth">"Post-Truth,”</a> about what happens when “alternative facts” replace actual facts, and feelings have more weight than evidence. Looked at from this perspective, calling Trump a liar fails to capture his key strategic purpose.</p>
<p>Any amateur politician can engage in lying. Trump is engaging in “post-truth.”</p>
<h2>Beyond word of the year</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/press/news/2016/12/11/WOTY-16">Oxford English Dictionaries named “post-truth”</a> its word of the year in November 2016, right before the U.S. election. </p>
<p>Citing a 2,000 percent spike in usage – due to Brexit and the American presidential campaign – <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/post-truth">they defined post-truth</a> as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” </p>
<p>Ideology, in other words, takes precedence over reality.</p>
<p>When an individual believes their thoughts can influence reality, we call it “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/magical-thinking">magical thinking</a>” and might worry about their mental health. When a government official uses ideology to trump reality, it’s more like propaganda, and it puts us on the road to fascism. </p>
<p>As Yale philosopher <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/19/17847110/how-fascism-works-donald-trump-jason-stanley">Jason Stanley argues</a>, “The key thing is that fascist politics is about identifying enemies, appealing to the in-group (usually the majority group), and smashing truth and replacing it with power.”</p>
<p>Consider the example of Trump’s recent decision not to cancel two political rallies on the same day as the Pittsburgh massacre. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/413644-trump-incorrectly-cites-stock-market-opening-day-after-9-11-to">He said that this was based on the fact</a> that the New York Stock Exchange was open the day after 9/11. </p>
<p>This isn’t true. The stock exchange stayed closed for six days after 9/11. </p>
<p>So was this a mistake? A lie? Trump didn’t seem to treat it so. In fact, he repeated the falsehood later in the same day. </p>
<p>When a politician gets caught in a lie, there’s usually a bit of sweat, perhaps some shame and the expectation of consequences. </p>
<p>Not for Trump. After many commentators pointed out to him that the stock exchange was in fact closed for several days after 9/11, he merely shrugged it off, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/28/no-president-trump-nyse-did-not-open-day-after-sept-attacks/?utm_term=.f648cb2beef1">never bothering to acknowledge – let alone correct – his error</a>. </p>
<p>Why would he do this?</p>
<h2>Ideology, post-truth and power</h2>
<p>The point of a lie is to convince someone that a falsehood is true. But the point of post-truth is domination. In my analysis, post-truth is an assertion of power. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2018/01/why-donald-trump-and-vladimir-putin-lie-and-why-they-are-so-good-it">As journalist Masha Gessen</a> and others have argued, when Trump lies he does so not to get someone to accept what he’s saying as true, but to show that he is powerful enough to say it. </p>
<p>He has asserted, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/14/trump-60-minutes-cbs-takeaways/1645388002/">“I’m the President and you’re not,”</a> as if such high political office comes with the prerogative of creating his own reality. This would explain why Trump doesn’t seem to care much if there is videotape or other evidence that contradicts him. When you’re the boss, what does that matter? </p>
<p>Should we be worried about this flight from mere lying to post-truth? </p>
<p>Even if all politicians lie, I believe that post-truth foreshadows something more sinister. In his powerful book <a href="http://timothysnyder.org/books/on-tyranny-tr">“On Tyranny,”</a> <a href="http://timothysnyder.org/">historian Timothy Snyder</a> writes that “post-truth is pre-fascism.” It is a tactic seen in “electoral dictatorships” – where a society retains the facade of voting without the institutions or trust to ensure that it is an actual democracy, like those in Putin’s Russia or Erdogan’s Turkey.</p>
<p>In this, Trump is following the authoritarian playbook, characterized by leaders lying, the erosion of public institutions and the consolidation of power. You do not need to convince someone that you are telling the truth when you can simply assert your will over them and dominate their reality. </p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Lee McIntyre is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/post-truth">Post-Truth</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Any amateur politician can engage in lying. President Donald Trump is going further than that. He’s engaging in ‘post-truth’.
Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/106295
2018-11-13T11:46:31Z
2018-11-13T11:46:31Z
The world’s plastic problem is bigger than the ocean
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243991/original/file-20181105-74787-8tdfn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic floats on and near the surface of the ocean.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov/derelict-fishing-nets-and-pacific-islands">NOAA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As you read this, a strange object that looks like <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/to-combat-the-great-garbage-patch-a-great-pool-noodle/">a 2,000-foot floating pool noodle</a> is drifting slowly through the central north Pacific Ocean. This object is designed to solve an enormous environmental problem. But in so doing, it brings attention to a number of others.</p>
<p>There are an estimated <a href="https://www.theoceancleanup.com">five trillion pieces of plastic</a> floating on and in the world’s oceans. The massive pool noodle will move through the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch">Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>, driven by the wind and currents and picking up the plastic it encounters along the way. Ocean Cleanup, the organization that developed the device, promises “<a href="https://www.theoceancleanup.com/">the largest cleanup in history</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/10/health/ocean-cleanup-test-trnd/index.html">If it works</a>, the device – blandly named System 001 – could make a dent in the enormous amount of <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/plastics-in-the-ocean/">ocean-borne plastic</a>. But once that plastic is collected the options are not good. That’s where an <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/synthetic-age">environmental ethicist like me</a> starts thinking about where this plastic will end up next. The ocean is better off without it, of course, but the plastic problem has many more layers than it first appears.</p>
<h2>The struggle of sorting</h2>
<p>Recycling plastic is only possible if it can be meticulously separated into its various chemical types. What people generally describe with the single word “plastic” encompasses <a href="https://www2.illinois.gov/cms/agency/recycling/i-cycle/Pages/plastics.aspx">seven main types of materials</a> – the ones used to make soda bottles, trash bags, cling wrap, shopping bags, yogurt containers, fishing nets, foam insulation and non-metal parts of many household appliances. Recycling each of these types, which you might know by their acronyms – such as PETE, LDPE, PVC, PP and HDPE – requires a different chemical process.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244191/original/file-20181106-74757-18q9hru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sorting materials is one of the most difficult challenges in recycling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/recyclable-garbage-consisting-glass-savings-plastic-649900345">one photo/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s why many household recycling programs ask residents to sort their plastics – and why communities that let people put recyclables of all types into one big bin employ people and machines to sort it after it’s collected. </p>
<p>Sorting won’t be easy with the plastic in the ocean. All the different kinds of plastic are mixed up together, and some of it has been chemically and physically broken down by sunlight and wave action. Much of it is now in tiny pieces called <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-are-guinea-pigs-in-a-worldwide-experiment-on-microplastics-97514">microplastics</a>, suspended just below the surface. The first difficulty, but by no means the last, will be sorting all that plastic – plus seaweed, barnacles and other sea life that may have attached itself to the floating debris.</p>
<h2>Recycling or downcycling?</h2>
<p>Ocean Cleanup is working on how best to reprocess, and brand, the material it collects, hoping that a willing market will emerge for its uniquely sourced product. Even if the company’s engineers and researchers can figure out how to sort it all, there are physical limitations to how useful the collected plastic will be.</p>
<p><a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/31/what-happens-to-all-that-plastic">The act of recycling</a> involves grinding up materials into very small pieces before melting and reforming them. An inescapable part of that process is that every time plastic is recycled, its polymers – the long chemical sequences that provide its structure – become shorter.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, lighter and more flexible types of plastic can only be recycled into denser, harder materials – unless large amounts of new virgin plastic are added to the mixture. After one or two rounds of recycling, the <a href="https://earth911.com/business-policy/how-many-times-recycled/">possibilities for reuse become very limited</a>. At that point, the “downcycled” plastic material is formed into textiles, car bumpers or plastic lumber, none of which end up anywhere else but the landfill. The plastic becomes garbage.</p>
<h2>Plastic composting</h2>
<p>What if there were a way to ensure that plastic was genuinely recyclable over the long term? Most bacteria can’t degrade plastics because the polymers contain strong carbon-to-carbon chemical bonds that are <a href="https://www.livescience.com/33085-petroleum-derived-plastic-non-biodegradable.html">different from anything bacteria evolved alongside in nature</a>. Fortunately, after being in the environment with human-discarded plastics for a number of decades, bacteria seem to be evolving to use this synthetic feedstock that pervades modern life. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244187/original/file-20181106-74766-70qage.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sea turtles have not yet evolved to eat plastic – but some bacteria have.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/plastic-pollution-problem-sea-turtle-eats-1034150206">Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2016, a team of biologists and materials scientists found a bacterium that can <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-plastic-munching-bacteria-could-fuel-a-recycling-revolution-55961">eat the particular type of plastic used in beverage bottles</a>. The bacteria turns PET plastic into more basic substances that can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-plastic-eating-bacteria-actually-work-a-chemist-explains-95233">remade into virgin plastics</a>. After identifying the key enzyme in the bacteria’s plastic-digestion process, the research team went on to deliberately engineer the enzyme to make it more effective. One scholar said the engineering work has managed to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-plastic-eating-bacteria-actually-work-a-chemist-explains-95233">overtake evolution</a>.”</p>
<p>At this point, the breakthroughs are only working in laboratory conditions and only on one of the seven types of plastics. But the idea of going beyond natural evolution is where the ears of an environmental philosopher go on alert.</p>
<h2>Synthetic enzymes and bacteria</h2>
<p>Discovering the plastic-eating bacterium and its enzyme took a lot of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad6359">watching, waiting and testing</a>. Evolution isn’t always quick. The findings suggest the possibility of discovering additional enzymes that work with other plastics. But they also raise the possibility of taking matters into our own hands and designing new enzymes and microbes. </p>
<p>Already, completely artificial proteins coded by synthetically constructed genes are acting like artificial enzymes and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.2550">catalyzing reactions in cells</a>. One researcher claims “<a href="https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/01/18/artificial-enzyme-protein-designed-entirely-scratch-functions-cells-life-sustaining">we can develop proteins</a> – that would normally have taken billions of years to evolve – in a matter of months.” In other labs, synthetic genomes built entirely out of bottles of chemicals are now <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad6253">capable of running bacterial cells</a>. Entirely synthetic cells – genomes, metabolic processes, functional cellular structures and all – are thought to be only <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07289-x">a decade away</a>. </p>
<p>This coming era of synthetic biology not only promises to change what organisms can do. It threatens to change what organisms actually are. Bacteria will no longer just be naturally occurring life forms; some, even many, of them will be purpose-built microbes constructed expressly to provide functions useful to humans, such as composting plastic. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0408-387">border between life and machine will blur</a>. </p>
<p>The plastics polluting the world’s oceans need to be cleaned up. Bringing them back to land would reinforce the fact that even on a global scale, it’s impossible to throw trash “away” – it just goes somewhere else for a time. But people should be very careful about what sort of technological fixes they employ. I cannot help but see the irony of trying to solve the very real problem of too many synthetic materials littering the oceans by introducing to the world trillions of synthetically produced proteins or bacteria to clean them up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher J. Preston has received funding from The US National Science Foundation, The John Templeton Foundation, and Critical Scientists Switzerland. He is also the author of The Synthetic Age, published by MIT Press, which provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>
Cleaning up plastic pollution in the ocean is good – and long overdue. But where will the waste go? Recycling isn’t always an option. Bacteria and enzymes could process it, raising new questions.
Christopher J. Preston, Professor of Philosophy, University of Montana
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.