SEEN ON FACEBOOK:
Yes, the Coronavirus is a killer. No, it’s not “just a flu”.
But:
They did not stop the economy for cancer, which is a bigger killer.
They did not stop the economy for diabetes, which is a bigger killer.
They did not stop the economy for heart disease, which is a bigger killer.
Why stop it for the coronavirus?
Um, maybe because those aren’t contagious diseases that can be stopped or slowed by quarantine? Just spitballing here. . . .
You can stream, but you can't hide
Fears mount of a coronavirus-induced depression Politico
- How is the market like the soul? They both have the “dual quality of being both an obvious illusion and the most real thing there is” — Justin E.H. Smith (Paris) on philosophy and investing
- The COVID-19 Open Research Map — a means by which to interactively explore research related to COVID-19, coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 published since January 1, 2020
- “The skeptics and pessimists need the optimists, just like the sick need the well. What happens when the whole planet falls into one category? It’s a disaster either way.” — Helena de Bres (Wellesley), a “non-joiner” and “anti-silver-lining-er” who likes the darkness of philosophy, comes to appreciate the light
- “JSTOR and our participating publishers are making an expanded set of content freely available to our participating institutions where students have been displaced due to COVID-19” — they’re working to get books as well as journal articles available
- Washingtonian Magazine now has a coronavirus ethicist column — Karen Stohr and Dan Sumalsy, both at Georgetown, will be alternating as the ethicist on call
- The APA will be holding a webinar for those who are moving their courses online — “Teaching Philosophy Online: Advice and Tips from Experienced Instructors” is taking place Tuesday, March 24th at 3pm Eastern time
- Ethicists on who gets treated when hospitals are overcrowded — Olivia Goldhill at Quartz asks several philosophers their views
- Peter J. King, formerly a lecturer of philosophy at Oxford, has received a 7-month prison sentence — the sentence follows a conviction for possession of indecent images of children
- What Lucretius taught us about pandemics — Stephen Greenblatt in The New Yorker
Mini-Heap posts appear when 7 or so (8 today) new items accumulate in the Heap of Links, the ever-growing collection of items from around the web that may be of interest to philosophers. Discussion welcome
“Majority of NYC’s coronavirus cases are men between 18 and 49 years old.” After all, it is their city, isn’t it?
Arnold Kling calibrates his anger. And “solvency later” from Arnold. And Ezra Klein on the economic seriousness of the moment.
“When fighting an outbreak such as #COVID19, we must be guided by solidarity, not stigma. The greatest enemy we face is not the virus itself; it’s the stigma that turns us against each other. We must stop stigma & hate!” That is from the head of the WHO, 2/16/2020.
Paul Romer and Alan Garber on how to prevent a depression (NYT). And two Paul Romer blog posts on the benefits of better tests.
Scott Gottlieb in today’s WSJ, very good piece.
Even our escapes, it turns out, aren't entirely escapes any more.
Coronavirus list of ‘key workers’ whose kids should stay in school finally published Mirror (KW). No hedgies on the list, oddly.‘Now Make It National’: Vermont and Minnesota Classify Grocery Store Staff as Emergency Personnel Common Dreams* * * Declining worker power and American economic performance Anna Stansbury and Lawrence Summers, Brookings Institute
NTSB cites drivers in fatal Tesla Autopilot crash, and photos tell the harrowing story Autoblog. EM: “Uh, it seems to me Autopilot – both based on the name and the function – was designed precisely to encourage driver inattentiveness.”
Privatized Pushbacks: How Merchant Ships Guard Europe New York Times (furzy)
Guillotine Watch
Evolution selects for ‘loners’ that hang back from collective behavior—at least in slime molds Phys.org