Bouquet #5: Eclectic Mind Food (Sick Notes, Phrenology, Parents-kids, Fahrenheit, Planet Survival)

You will love these five insightful sharings on Sick Notes, Phrenology in a new modern avatar, how Parents-kids relations are changing, story of Fahrenheit, Planet Survival and population.

Bouquet #5: Eclectic Mind Food (Sick Notes, Phrenology, Parents-kids, Fahrenheit, Planet Survival)
Photo by Jamie Haughton / Unsplash
Photo by Dewang Gupta / Unsplash
“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” ― Kahlil Gibran

1. Tyranny of a doctor's note

Sickness of workers resulting in absenteeism has long been the source of friction between the employer and the employed.  What started off as a tool to control labor is now a ubiquitous irritant for those who are genuinely sick in a modern health system environment.  This is a very insightful piece on the dynamics, the history and the ramification of a simple "doctor's note."

The Cruel Tyranny of Sick Notes
Your boss asking for a doctor’s note is more about controlling labor than worker health.

2. Appearance and Crime

In the past phrenology was known as the "study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities."  Interestingly data science and medicine also approach the same point.

Xiaolin Wu and Xi Zhang, two AI researchers, have said that they have trained an algorithm to identify criminals based on the shape of their faces, with 89.5% accuracy.

They are saying what many racist people would say.

Algorithms associating appearance and criminality have a dark past | Aeon Ideas
In discussions about facial-recognition software, phrenology analogies seem like a no-brainer. In fact, they’re a dead-end

3. Parents footing kids' bills

A recent survey by OnePoll on behalf of Chartway Credit Union, showed that despite not managing all of their expenses, 85% of respondents consider themselves to be financially responsible!  

Courtesy: NY Post

It is considered to be a shame in the US, but if one sees on a social level, it is - collectively speaking - a more efficient way of living.

Almost 25% of millennials’ parents cover their rent: poll
More than three in 10 (35%) adults admit they still have at least one bill on their parents’ tab.

4. The Story of Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is now a standard.  The story of Fahrenheit scale is both of inventive genius as well as the ingenuity of making thermometers that were reproducible.  That is what Daniel Fahrenheit did.

Here is an audio and transcript from a program that is my all-time favorite - The engines of our ingenuity.  Listen to it.

audio-thumbnail
Eng45 64k Fahrenheit
0:00
/3:16

And then read it.  

No. 45: Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit and thermometry

If you like these kind of things, you can access to all the transcripts here.

Transcripts of The Engines of Our Ingenuity

5. Population - Affront to our Survival

In this radio podcast from On Point Radio, Elizabeth Hadly shares some unique insights which are very troubling.  She shares how she would have insects stuck on her wind screen when she drove westward.  Now she doesn't see that anymore.  In the last few years, almost 70% of the wild animal populations in the world have been lost!

Humans have become a scourge on the planet.  Listen to this podcast.

Earth’s growing population: ‘A direct affront to our own survival’
Elizabeth Hadly is a professor of biology at Stanford University, and director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. For four decades, she’s been an eyewitness to dramatic changes in the plant and animal kingdoms caused by human beings.

If you like our content and value the work that we are doing, please do consider contributing to our expenses.  CHOOSE THE USD EQUIVALENT AMOUNT you are comfortable with.


If you like this post - please share it with someone who will appreciate the information shared in this edition.

Today’s ONLINE PAPER: Check out today’s “The Drishtikone Daily” edition. - THE DRISHTIKONE DAILY

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to Drishtikone - Online Magazine on Geopolitics and Culture from Indian Perspective.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.