My Insider content this week includes my redraft of the 2005 class as well as a recap of the first round picks who didn’t pan out. I also held my weekly Klawchat on Wednesday. My first mock draft will go up on Tuesday.
And now, this week’s links…
- The illusion of memory in action: The New York Times shows two false eyewitness accounts of a shooting in New York City. This is one of the six cognitive illusions discussed in The Invisible Gorilla, which I reviewed this week.
- Chef Hugh Acheson stars in the first episode of Eater’s Real Chefs Cook Dumb Recipes. This one, for chicken nachos, is really dumb: It’s from Kris Jenner’s cookbook, but it’s Nicole Brown Simpson’s recipe. Actually, it’s not so much dumb as totally tacky. Also, Acheson’s newest cookbook, The Broad Fork, just came out last week – it’s all about cooking with vegetables and fruits.
- Why did Rehoboth Beach reject Dogfish Head’s expansion plans? Do they not like jobs? And beer? In fact, that’s my campaign platform. Keith Law for Governor of Delaware: Jobs and Beer.
- Are seed libraries legal in your state? You won’t believe the bullshit reason some state governments are using to shut such seed-exchange programs down.
- Good news on the vaccine front: California’s Senate is trying to end non-medical waivers. There are no good non-medical reasons to eschew vaccinations. None.
- Frontline had a great series of reports on food-borne illnesses in raw chicken.
- The Amtrak derailment this week brought out some regrettable social media behavior, including massive attacks on a music professor and violinist who sent an angry tweet to Amtrak about retrieving her instrument.
- A cute followup on the Israeli professor who calmed a student’s crying baby. Apparently this is par for the course for him. (Pun intended.)
- More bad news on the environmental front: NPR reports on the 42% drop in honeybee colonies from 2014. This comes on the heels of two more studies blaming pesticides known as “neonics” for their role in colony collapse disorder.
- Also from NPR’s Science Desk, why would a fish have gained (through evolution) the ability to make its own sunscreen?
- The BBC reports on ideas for improving how you learn and/or memorize new material.
Dang. When you said “par for the course” I thought the article was going to say the professor took the tyke out to work on his short game. (See? Puns!)
While I don’t support attacking people on social media, I actually think Jennifer Lee was out of line. Yes, she was just in a train wreck and yes she lost her violin. But her tweet was incredibly thoughtless, and evinced no concern for the fact that dead/injured humans are a higher priority than objects. Nor for the obvious practical consideration that Amtrak can’t just let people go crawling around a train wreck–very dangerous.
In ordinary circumstances, I’d agree. But she had just been in a traumatic accident and may have been injured herself, so her control of her emotions may not have been what it would be under normal conditions.
You make something of a good point, and one I could get behind if we were talking about a verbal confrontation. But the use of Twitter—have to launch an application/web browser, type a message, push ‘Post,’ etc.—speaks to certain level of consciousness and deliberation that definitely weakens the “she lost control” argument…
I do not like the way that first clause–“You make something of a good point” reads upon further review. As there is not an edit function, please consider that clause to read “You make a good point”…
I agree that she could have offered a bit more empathy, but this is twitter we are talking about – not a whole lot of room for nuanced communication on that platform.
We have no idea what she went through, either in the initial ordeal or in its aftermath. Professional violins are usually valued in the tens of thousands of dollars range (or more), and many musicians actually borrow and don’t own their primary instruments. The instrument is likely her livelihood, sitting somewhere in the midst of the train wreckage, completely unprotected. I can’t see getting all bent out of shape over what she said.
And BTW her last name is Kim, not Lee.
I grew up in Delaware and my parents still live there. I’ll get them to support your jobs and beer platform, Governor Klaw.
In early June 2015, my wife and newborn will stay in Bethany Beach. Any recommendations for restaurants that are child friendly?
I haven’t been down there yet.
Your review of The Invisible Gorilla reminded me of a tv show on National Geographic called Brain Games. It’s all about how our brains process information and how easily it can be tricked. Have you seen it? If not, I’d recommend it. I think you’d enjoy it.
Your gubernatorial campaign already has been run successfully in Colorado by Hickenlooper!