Monthly Archives: November 2014

The Within-U.S. Ebola Response As a Public Health Success

Posted on November 7, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Leaving aside the dismal policies put in place by many state governors (and, here, the failures and few successes are bipartisan in nature), Paul Waldman notes that the federal level response to Ebola has been pretty good (boldface mine): Imagine … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Health | 1 Comment

The Educational Crisis of Absenteeism

Posted on November 7, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

We’ve discussed before how missing school has a significant effect on student achievement, which can be greater than teacher effects. Not surprising–not only can’t a teacher teach when the student isn’t there, but chronic absenteeism often suggests health problems or … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Massachusetts | 1 Comment

Links 11/6/14

Posted on November 6, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: A randomized trial in a massive online open course shows people don’t know what a statistically significant relationship looks like, but they can learn The flawed and offensive logic of “Academic Science Isn’t Sexist” in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 5 Comments

Irony, Thy Name Is Bill Gates: The Surveillance Edition

Posted on November 6, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

So Bill Gates had this to say about infectious disease surveillance (boldface mine): Most needed, Mr. Gates said, is a better system of global disease surveillance. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Gates Foundation have invested … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Public Health | 2 Comments

Elections In a Time of Shattered Heuristics: A Hypothesis For Tuesday’s Debacle

Posted on November 6, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Ezra Klein lays out the predicament of anyone trying to develop a simple political narrative for the 2014 results: It’s easy to say elections are complicated and elegant explanations inevitably oversimplify. So what’s the right narrative of the 2014 election? … Continue reading →

Posted in Voting | Comments Off on Elections In a Time of Shattered Heuristics: A Hypothesis For Tuesday’s Debacle

Links 11/5/14

Posted on November 5, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Fountain of youth: A congressman’s plan to make NIH grantees younger 4-Acre Spider Web Engulfs Building Algal virus found in humans, slows brain activity Research Suggests That Psychiatric Interventions Like Admission to a Mental Facility Could … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Will Democratic Political Operatives Ever Look in the Mirror?

Posted on November 5, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Of course not. I write this Tuesday evening, with the expectation that Democrats are going to take a pounding. There will be the usual recriminations, with the Democratic professional political class blaming everyone but themselves. They will blame everyone and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Massachusetts Continues to Dismantle Its World-Class Educational System

Posted on November 5, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

When we last checked in on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (God save it!), we observed that teachers were being drowned in administrative work and subject to ridiculous teacher evaluation procedures. Well, now we learn that Massachusetts is proposing to pull … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Fucking Morons, Massachusetts | 2 Comments

Links 11/4/14

Posted on November 4, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Mass. biologist finds rare blue leopard frog Dear America: Quit Flipping Out About Gluten Granny’s mean pot of bushmeat stew (my take here) Incoming Australia research chief touts water dowsing Ebola researchers still welcome at European … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

“Take Me To Your Leader”

Posted on November 4, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Reason #1,823,457 why science is awesome.

Posted in Aves | Comments Off on “Take Me To Your Leader”