#and warning people to be cautious of people that are considered experts for seemingly no reason

[narelleart]

Let's talk about "Fish Cred"

Kind of a weird topic, I know.

But it's something I am constantly running into in aquarium hobbyist circles. Inevitably, in every group, there comes to be a small subgroup of individuals that become established as the "experts" that everyone else goes to with questions.

Sometimes (often) these are the people with the most "fish cred." But what that means, and what is valued, varies from group to group.

--

Does successful spawning of fishes qualify you to be an expert? ...Perhaps, if it's a species that's difficult to spawn. But probably not for "just add water" fishes, like guppies and Ancistrus.

Does working in a pet store or for an aquarium maintenance company make you an expert? ...Perhaps, but typically not. As many of us have experienced, pet stores are typically breeding grounds for misinformation. The average consumer assumes the employees know what they're talking about, but this is sadly rarely the case. Consider also that the big box store corporations that are dominant in America have their own husbandry information they peddle, which is pretty universally incorrect. Sometimes fish stores and their employees propagate good information, especially in small local shops, but it's unfortunately rare.

Does working as a professional aquarist make you an expert? ...Perhaps, but the types of systems aren't always equivalent. I've known aquarists who work in saltwater that have horrible freshwater husbandry at home.

Does a B.S. in Biology, Marine Biology, Fisheries, Aquaculture, etc. make you an expert? ...Perhaps, but probably not. Bachelor's degrees are pretty general and none of these prepare you for hobbyist aquarium husbandry. If you are an expert that has one of these qualifications, the degree may help you understand some concepts better, but you probably learned your husbandry elsewhere.

Does doing research on fishes make you an expert? ...Perhaps, about the things you research specifically, but it doesn't necessarily mean you know much about husbandry. I've been in labs whose husbandry looked like it hadn't changed since the 90s.

Does having kept aquariums for a long time make you an expert? ...Perhaps, but often not. I see too many "old school" hobbyists that are still doing what work for them 20, 30, 40 years ago. This hobby grows and changes as we learn more and as new tools and equipment are developed for us.

Does having written books about aquariums make you an expert? ...Perhaps, but nowadays anyone can write a book. There's no one preventing them you putting the same misinformation that gets spread on forums, youtube, etc. into a printed book.

...Do you even need any of these "credentials" to keep fishes well? No! A well researched beginner can keep their fish much more appropriately than a seasoned hobbyist. These are all arbitrary benchmarks, you don't need any of them to achieve expertise in husbandry.

--

Here's the thing with fish cred - a lot of people try to substitute these credentials for providing justification, whether their own or through references, for the husbandry recommendations they make. "I'm an expert and I said so" instead of "here's why I think this is best."

If you make decisions based on general "expertise" and not based on fact-based research relevant to the husbandry decisions you're making, you are going to care for your fishes poorly.

--

If you're familiar with me, you'll know I've amassed a lot of fish cred. I do have expertise in aquarium husbandry - but most of that is actually self taught and not relevant to my credentials.

I actually hate fish cred as an entry requirement for husbandry discussions.

It's convenient that I have a lot of fish cred to throw around for the people that only listen when you can meet ridiculous bench marks. If I bust out the fish cred, you know I'm annoyed and am trying to shut someone down that values those types of things. Typically I do this with people that have decided they're experts, often based on one of these arbitrary markers, but that ultimately are just spreading misinformation.

I would caution everyone to be wary of those that lead with their "fish cred," or really anyone that situates themselves as an expert without backing it up with actual shows of expertise. If you can't explain the tough concepts in terms a layman can digest, you're no expert. You need to explain why you make the claims you do, where those recommendations come from. Back it up. Otherwise you only make empty claims.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 19, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson

With the election just over two weeks away, the news is intense.

The biggest story, by far, remains coronavirus. While we are all understandably buffeted by the craziness of politics these days, no historians will ever write about this election without noting that over it hangs the pall of more than 220,000 Americans dead of Covid-19 and more than 8 million infected, and that numbers, once again, are rising. Today the U.S. had 58,387 new cases, along with at least 445 deaths.

After Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and, theoretically anyway, an adviser to the White House, was quoted on CBS’s 60 Minutes last night criticizing the administration’s response to coronavirus, Trump attacked him this morning in a conference call with staff to which reporters had been invited. “Fauci is a disaster,” Trump said. “If I listened to him, we’d have 500,000 deaths." Later he increased that number to 700,000 or 800,000. “People are tired of Covid,” he said. “I have the biggest rallies I’ve ever had. And we have Covid. People are saying: ‘Whatever. Just leave us alone.’ They’re tired of it.”

In Prescott, Arizona, this afternoon, Trump expanded on this idea. He told the crowd: “They are getting tired of the pandemic, aren’t they? You turn on CNN, that’s all they cover. ‘Covid, Covid, Pandemic, Covid, Covid.’ You know why? They’re trying to talk everybody out of voting. People aren’t buying it, CNN, you dumb bastards.”

Indeed, we are all tired of it, but as cases are surging and hospitals and medical staff again appear to be on the verge of being overwhelmed with cases of Covid-19, a majority of Americans trust Fauci’s cautious advice more than we trust that of the White House, which is embracing the idea of simply letting the disease spread to try to create immunity. Trump’s final push for reelection centers on holding in-person rallies, trying to illustrate that there is nothing to fear from the disease and that the country needs to get back to normal despite it.

Trump’s anger at Fauci seems to be part of his general anger these days, seemingly sparked by the polls that show him trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. He is using his rallies both to express his grievances and to boast of his own power. Today, in Prescott, he boasted “I call the head of Exxon. I’ll use a company. ‘How, how are you doing, how’s energy coming? When are doing the exploration? Oh, you need a couple of permits, huh?’ But I call the head of Exxon, I say, ‘you know, I’d love you to send me $25m for the campaign.’” This sort of a bribe—the official term is quid pro quo—is illegal. Exxon promptly clarified: “We are aware of the President’s statement regarding a hypothetical call with our CEO… and just so we’re all clear, it never happened.”

Trump and pro-Trump media outlets are frustrated that the story Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani passed to the tabloid newspaper the New York Post is not getting the traction they want. The story of three laptops, abandoned at a repair shop by Biden’s son Hunter, that just happened to have incriminating evidence that ended up in Giuliani’s hands was flagged almost instantly as having the hallmarks of Russian disinformation. Today more than 50 former senior intelligence officers signed a letter to that effect, warning that Russia was, once again, interfering in our elections.

Even though intelligence officers warned the White House that Russian intelligence was targeting Giuliani, Trump’s team stands behind the story, and is reportedly putting pressure on FBI director Christopher Wray to announce an investigation into the issue. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), and Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) have all been pushing the story.

Today, the president exploded at a reporter, calling him “a criminal for not reporting” on the Hunter Biden story. Trump loyalist John Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence—which places him at the head of our intelligence services—defended the Biden story and insisted it is not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. He told the Fox News Channel: “That's something the American people should consider as they go in & look at elections & everything that's going on in this country ... we have the opportunity to bring truth."

Ratcliffe’s partisanship shocked CIA veteran John Sipher, who tweeted: “Stunningly inappropriate. Intelligence leaders should be focused on collecting and analyzing foreign national security information. This is domestic, partisan politics and out-of-bounds.”

The news broke today that Fox News Channel executives passed on the Biden story, thinking it was not credible. Now, of course, FNC is reporting on the fight over the story, so it is sort of having it both ways, but the fact that the story was too iffy even for FNC speaks volumes. Also today, Facebook suspended the account of Andrii Derkach, the Ukrainian politician associated with Giuliani and the Biden story. Treasury officials have identified Derkach as a Russian operative. Facebook took down his page “for violating our policy against the use of our platform by people engaged in election-focused influence operations.”

Also today, the Department of Justice indicted 6 Russian military intelligence officers for computer hacks around the world that cost billions of dollars and disrupted a number of different societies. Thomas P. Bossert, Trump’s first homeland security adviser, who is now the president of a security firm, told New York Times reporters Michael S. Schmidt and Nicole Perlroth: “The G.R.U.’s hackers operate as a strategic arm of the Russian state, and they have been using this cybertool as a military weapon in a military campaign.”

Thursday night is the final presidential debate, and the Trump campaign spent the day wrangling over its terms. The non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates negotiated with the campaigns months ago to establish that the topics for each debate would be determined by the debate’s moderator. Last week, NBC News White House correspondent Kristin Welker, who will moderate the Thursday event—an arrangement to which Trump agreed—announced her topics, including the coronavirus, race, leadership, national security, and climate change. The Trump campaign promptly accused the commission of breaking a promise to focus on foreign affairs, an accusation the commission rejected, reminding the campaign of the terms to which they had agreed.

For his part, Trump called Welker “a radical left Democrat” who is “extraordinarily unfair,” but said he would take part anyway. “I’ll participate, I just think it is very unfair,” Trump told reporters. “I will participate, but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it is very unfair that again we have an anchor who is totally biased.”

Later today, though, the commission announced it would turn off each candidate’s microphone during his opponent’s initial two-minute reply to Welker’s questions. Trump indicated he was not happy with the change.

Finally, tonight the Supreme Court denied a request from the Pennsylvania Republican Party to stop the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive up to three days after Election Day. This is a win for wider voting in a swing state that often plays a key role in the Electoral College, and it appears that the Pennsylvania Republican Party thinks enabling more people to vote will hurt them. Four of the eight voting justices-- Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh—sided with the Republicans’ argument for restricting the vote. Since Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett is, like them, a strict constructionist, it is not unreasonable to assume she would have joined them if she were on the court. Because there are currently eight justices on the court, and they tied, the lower court’s decision holds. But if Barrett were there, it is likely the strict constructionists would have made up a majority, cutting off the counting of ballots that arrived in the three days after the election.

In what is quite a rare occurrence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to hold sessions over the weekend to push through Barrett’s nomination before the election.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox RIchardson

[ellaenchanting]

Good evening. I've talked to 3 psychotherapists and nobody was able to give me an answer due to lack of experience and knowledge. Since you're a deeply integrated part of the hypno community on tumblr and in rl and since you seem to have lots of hypno experience, I was wondering if you have a piece of advice for someone who wants to try out hypnosis but has had a psychosis before. I "just" want to know if it's safe for me to do or whether I should rather stay away from it.

Hi!

So first of all, I’m going to make clear that this is my Kinky Hypnosis Blog and am going to be giving opinions/sharing ideas as a Kinky Hypnosis Blog Owner. I’m not acting here in any sort of professional mental health capacity- so please take that into account when considering my feedback.

 I did a quick stroll through some research yesterday and was actually a little surprised at what I saw. When I was first learning/reading about hypnotherapy, I remember seeing constant warnings against hypnotizing people with tendencies towards psychosis (and especially people diagnosed with schizophrenia) because hypnosis was seen as inherently dangerous for this population. I was expecting to see tons of modern, research-based warnings cautioning people away.

I did not really see warnings about hypnosis being dangerous for people with psychosis.  Instead, I  saw recommendations not to use it with psychotic patients because  hypnotherapy so far seems to be an ineffective treatment tool for psychosis (particularly for schizophrenia). I know there  are researchers out there right now still working on ways to utilize hypnosis for  treatment in this population,  but so far their results have not been good enough to make it a recommended tool. Results haven’t been catastrophic or dangerous, notably, just non-promising for the effectiveness of hypnosis as treatment.  

The American Society for Clinical Hypnosis (which is the big non-layperson hypnotherapy group in the States) DOES recommend against hypnotizing people experiencing psychosis- but explicitly more because patients experiencing psychosis  tend to have shorter attention spans. It’s less a “this is dangerous” warning than a “this may not work or be beneficial”. 

I can think of a few other places where the notion that you shouldn’t hypnotize people with psychosis came from. There was a famous case in the 90s of Paul McKenna hypnotizing a man in a stage show who started showing psychotic symptoms a few days later. The court ruled in favor or Mr. McKenna- backed by testimony by   the British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis and other experts that stage hypnosis could not cause schizophrenia. Still- since this all was happening roughly around the time I was first really starting to learn hypnosis, this might have impacted why I heard so much of “don’t hypnotize schizophrenics���. This warning also appears in a few clinical articles but- mostly very very old ones and not ones that really represent current thought.

There are some seemingly strong links between what delusions and hallucinations look like in hypnosis vs. in regular psychosis. Hypnotic suggestion especially can kind of  mimic the thought processes that naturally go into delusional thinking by encouraging magical thinking/looser associations. There’s also been a vibrant field of study in the past several years using hypnosis to simulate certain psychotic delusions- erotomania, Capgras syndrome, mirror misidentification, delusions of possession etc.- as well as conversion disorder and then do a brain scan of the hypnotized person. This is done as an exploratory way to guess at how delusions are produced in the brain during psychosis (because it is often much easier to give a hypnotized person a brain scan than a person experiencing psychosis). So- at least some researchers feel like the suggested delusions and close enough to organic delusions to research one for clues in the other.  There has also been some suggestions that the decrease in reality monitoring in someone who is hypnotized and hallucinating/experiencing effects and someone experiencing psychosis and hallucinating  may come from the same neurological place (both show decreased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex- which seems to help with reality monitoring amongst lots of other things). So- neurologically hypnosis and psychosis may look pretty similar. That doesn’t mean there’s any sort of causative relationship at all or that one will spark the other but- they may not be entirely dissimilar mental states.

So- let’s talk practical. 

No one knows the mental long term effects of frequent hypnosis. There have been no studies on the long-term effects of doing kinky hypnosis on anyone, much less people who have experienced psychosis previously. Longitudinal non-kinky hypnosis research on subjects doesn’t help because 1. it’s rare 2. it’s not usually looking at psychological effects of doing hypnosis 3. those subjects are hypnotized WAY less frequently than kinky subjects are. 

Who knows what the mental health effects of long term frequently hypnosis are? Or of doing kinky hypnosis? When I walk around cons people seem mostly OK?

You indicate above that you’ve experienced psychosis before but it doesn’t seem to be a current or a long-term part of your mental health picture. I’m curious about what “psychosis” means in this situation and what contributed to it. Also how long ago this episode was and how long the psychotic symptoms lasted. Was it in the middle of a manic episode*? Did you have brief psychotic disorder? Was it drug induced? Did it  happen because of physical illness? 

 I’m curious because if your psychosis was pretty state-specific (during mania or depression, drug-induced, caused by extreme lack of sleep/food) it is less likely to pop up in situations where those conditions are not the same. So, for example, if you experienced paranoia when you were manic but haven’t experienced it again, you are unlikely to slip into paranoia again randomly when you aren’t manic*.  

I’m also curious if you had just a psychotic symptom and that’s it. Many people (potentially even most people) have or will experience some kind of perceptual hallucination in their life for some reason- but that doesn’t mean they were clinically psychotic or mentally ill. (If this is the case, you may have less to worry about?)

I’m having difficulty justifying telling you “Hey, you’ve had a psychotic episode before so you should never do hypnosis” based on information I’ve found. I would also have difficulty justifying the stance of “I’m not seeing a specific warning in the clinical literature so- go knock yourself out! Do all of the hypnosis!” I think I’m  going to default to Risk Aware Consensual Kink. Know that  you are doing a potentially risky thing and be cautious.  Talk lots with your partner about your history and what you are experiencing every time you do hypnosis. Monitor yourself before and afterwards- check in with how you feel. You likely want to go slooooow with doing new things with lots of check ins. Be willing to stop if you’re feeling off or like you are having negative mental health effects.

There may be different risks based on what activities you’re pursuing with hypnosis. What are you looking to get out of your experience? If it’s an induction with relaxation and maybe some sexy orgasm suggestions, that seems like it might not be so risky. It would probably behoove you to stay from suggestions that replicate the specific psychosis you experiences- so if you have heard voices you may stay away from a suggestion where you her your hypnotist’s voice in your head at all times. If you tend towards paranoia specifically, you likely want to stay away from a LOT of the mind control-flavored stuff that’s pretty prevalent in hypnokink. If your psychosis was tied to a particular state- like mania or depression- you should probably stop doing hypnosis for a bit if you notice yourself going into that state again until you become more regulated. Pay attention to yourself.

You could also not take the risk. Hypnosis is always a somewhat risky activity- for all of us, not just you- and it’s perfectly fair to not want to take that risk for a variety of legitimate reasons. You are probably less at risk of harm from hypnosis than the folks with dissociative disorders or DID- and I see those folks around the community and seemingly doing OK**. So it’s all about what risk are you comfortable with and how willing are you/your partner to communicate and self-monitor during exploration.

Thank you for this question anon! I hope I answered it in a way that makes sense and works for you. :)

Interesting article on hypnotizability and mania in bipolar I/II here btw: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5679347/

*Unless you’re dealing with schizoaffective disorder- but it doesn’t sound like you are.

**I think? Y’all- take care of yourself if you tend to be dissociative, ok? That’s especially true if you have a trauma history. It’s OK to stop if things get to be too much. 

[khalilhumam]

Trinidad & Tobago ranks second on a COVID-19 ‘lockdown rollback checklist,’ but caution remains

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/trinidad-tobago-ranks-second-on-a-covid-19-lockdown-rollback-checklist-but-caution-remains/

Trinidad & Tobago ranks second on a COVID-19 ‘lockdown rollback checklist,’ but caution remains

How to balance easing restrictions and remaining vigilant?

A screenshot of the title page of the study by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), which assessed the readiness of various countries to relax COVID-19 physical distancing measures.

In a press conference on April 29, 2020, Terrence Deyalsingh, Trinidad and Tobago's minister of health, highlighted a study conducted by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), which provided “a cross-national overview of which countries meet four of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) six recommendations for relaxing physical distancing measures”. On the list, Trinidad and Tobago ranked second, just after Vietnam. The only other Caribbean nation in the top 10 is Barbados. While this may be welcome news in terms of how effectively the government has been coping with the pandemic (as of April 30, the country recorded 116 COVID-19 cases, with 72 patients discharged and eight deaths), the minister has said that the study's findings should not lure citizens into a false sense of security. The study itself also laid out the challenges the researchers encountered in collating the available data:

While the OxCGRT data cannot fully say how ready countries are to leave lockdown, it does provide for a rough comparison across nations. Even this ‘high level’ view reveals that few countries are close to meeting the WHO criteria for rolling back lockdown measures. At the time of writing [April 23, 2020], only a handful of countries are doing well at the four ‘checklist’ criteria OxCGRT is able to track.

A screenshot of the table from the study by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), which shows Trinidad and Tobago in second place re: preparedness to roll back some of its imposed COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions.

Naturally, one of the variables to be considered is that the study was unable to secure data for two categories that help the WHO determine whether or not a country is ready to roll back lockdown measures: vulnerable settings and preventative measures in workplaces. The other four criteria — controlled cases, success with testing, tracing and isolating, the management of imported cases and community understanding — were ranked on a grid ranging from “less” to “more ready to exit lockdown”. Of these, Trinidad and Tobago's performance was slightly lower when it came to testing and community understanding. Social media users were quick to weigh in. On Facebook, Tenten Allegra warned:

It does *not* at all mean that it is time to end the restrictions. That will be decided by the CMO, the panel of experts in charge and all our boxes in this table need to be solid blue. No country is truly ready to lift restrictions but it *does* mean that in terms of ability to *begin* getting life forward to the new normal, we are in one of the best positions in the world to **consider** easing the lockdown come May 15th. That's something to feel encouraged by. Keep up the good work! May God bless our nation!

Dr. Roshan Parasram, Trinidad and Tobago's chief medical officer, has already advised of a “new normal”, even as restrictions may be lifted bit by bit. The country's current restrictions stay in place until May 10, 2020. Attorney Emir Crowne, however, was a bit more sceptical of Minister Deyalsingh's assessment:

When Minister Deyalsingh said — in the context of clearing up misinformation no less — that Trinidad & Tobago ‘ranked second’ by ‘the University of Oxford’, here is what he neglected to mention: 1) The ‘ranking’ is based on a research note prepared by the Blavatnik School of Government. It is not peer-reviewed. It is not a ‘report'; 2) ‘Because the data only measure four of six recommended actions, we should be cautious about inferring what countries are ready to rollback lockdown from this measure.’ (from the research note itself) […]

Founded in 2010, the Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy that forms part of the University of Oxford's Social Sciences Division. In examining the list, blogger and Global Voices’ Jamaica-based contributor Emma Lewis noted:

Trinidad and Tobago is ranked second […] as ready to lift its lockdown. Another CARICOM country, Belize, is not far behind in fifth place […] Barbados is in tenth place. Aruba, Guyana, Bermuda, Dominican Republic and Cuba (in that order) are in varying states of readiness. Jamaica, according to this survey, is the third lowest-ranking Caribbean country in terms of being prepared to lift an economic lockdown. Dominica, whose economy was battered and hardly recovered from devastating natural disasters, is the lowest ranking [Caribbean territory]. Cuba, which has its own peculiar set of economic challenges, is the second lowest. I did not find every Caribbean country on the list — perhaps reliable data is not available.

Concerned about the Jamaican government's apparent eagerness to get the economy up and running, Lewis continued:

I would like to give the prime minister some unsolicited advice: Deal with the virus, first. Get things under control, as the WHO suggests. Then and only then will we be ready to go back to what you call the ‘new normal’, which I am afraid will inevitably and quickly become ‘business as usual’.

Likewise, for many in Trinidad and Tobago, there remains a high level of caution around the lifting of restrictions — but there are also calls to get the nation's economy moving safely again. Social media users like journalist Judy Raymond, however, have observed people seemingly reverting to “the old normal”. The country will reassess its position come May 10. In the meantime, the battle against COVID-19 continues.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (0) Donate · Share this: twitter facebook reddit

[thedefinitionofbts]

Our First and Last (Ch. 11)

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 |

 Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 (Final)

Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Reader (MAIN) | Park Jimin x Kim Taehyung | Jung Hoseok x Min Yoongi | Kim Namjoon x Kim Seokjin

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Soulmate Au, Scifi

Words: 2.8K

“Dr. Park, I’m actually feeling a lot better these days.” Jungkook says as he’s sitting across from Jimin, back in the office that he’s come to know all too well.

“Oh, how so?” Jimin says, raising his eyebrow and pretending that he hasn’t noticed Jungkook’s change in temperament. The latter’s attitude has improved so much, and Jimin would be blind to not notice he looks less worn out recently too. Although the signs on the outside were unmistakable, Jimin was still trying to be cautious, not wanting to jump to conclusions before Jungkook actually voiced his inner feelings himself.

“I feel more alive…shit that sounds gay….” Jungkook looks down and huffs a laugh. He bites his lip, trying to think of the best way to explain because he was never the type to be good at expressing himself or opening up, since he’s been an expert at bottling up his emotions for years now.

“Jungkook” Jimin says softly. The young neurosurgeon raises his eyes to look into Jimin’s. “Whatever you’re comfortable telling me.”

Jungkook takes a deep breath, and explains the changes in his mood that he’s experienced. He finds that opening up gradually becomes easier the more you practice, so he reveals more to Jimin than he had originally planned. He starts off with telling Jimin he wakes up with more energy in the mornings and feeling like there are actually things he looks forward to each day, but most importantly, his dreams don’t consume his life anymore… and neither does his research for that matter.

“That feeling of searching has faded hasn’t it?” Jimin comments after Jungkook has fallen silent. He’s looking at the neurosurgeon and low-key admiring his visuals, which if Taehyung found out might just throw a fit. But Jimin likes this side of Jungkook because it reminds him of Taehyung, both of them having the habit of initially hiding behind hardened shells that cover up their kind and pure hearts. And seeing Jungkook’s true personality come out was the epitome of his inner beauty finally on par with his outer.

Jungkook nods slowly, clearly still submerged in his thoughts. “Which is the part I don’t understand.” He says. There’s confusion in his voice, but it’s faint and almost indecipherable. “Because I haven’t found anything, and yet it feels like something has filled the void.”

“Sometimes it takes time to realize that you’ve come to the end of your search” Jimin says, making Jungkook look up and meet his eyes. Although he’s physically larger than the pink haired psychologist, Jungkook feels small at that moment. “Don’t over think it, just follow your heart.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows and his lip curves upward. “Didn’t think a psychologist would say a cheesy line like that” He jokes. It’s lighthearted and playful, another side of Jungkook that Jimin is witnessing for the first time, and it makes his face flush a little, complimenting the pastel color of his hair.

“Hey, I panicked ok?” Jimin jokes back. His eyes turn into crescent moons as he laughs. Jungkook joins in, nose scrunching up and bunny teeth peaking through his upturned lips. The two medical professionals have this sort of bonding moment that would’ve seemed impossible when they had first met.

“I feel comfortable in her presence” Jungkook finally says after the laughter has died down, referring to you. Jungkook thinks about the time before he met you and when the smallest things used to irritate him, now it has come to his attention that maybe he was just lonely and looking for someone to fill that emptiness. “I know this sounds almost cheesier than your previous comment, but half of me wants to believe she might be part of whatever I’ve been looking for all this time.” And even though he thinks that Jimin is just going to tell him that that’s the power of love, which is what any normal person would probably say anyways, but the pink-haired psychologist, to Jungkook’s surprise, doesn’t.

“It’s true that only one person could’ve done that.” Jimin says after taking a moment to decide the best way to reply. Taehyung’s counting on him to guide Jungkook, and he’s not going to mess it up now that Jungkook is so, so close. He looks at Jungkook with an expression that is uncharacteristic of his usual playful self, like he knows something Jungkook doesn’t but is waiting for Jungkook to figure it out on his own.

“Jung Hoseok! Open this door right NOW!”

You bang on Hoseok’s apartment door. That little shit was pretending he wasn’t home when you know for certain he’s in there. It was 8am on the day after the set-up with Jungkook that he planned, and his car was still in the parking lot. There’s no way he’s not home.

You hear the lock of the door click, and Hoseok peak out the tiny crack of an opening. He still had the chain lock hooked on so you wouldn’t be able to push the door open and barge in.

“Let me in” You say, narrowing your eyes.

“Only if you promise to not kill me” Hoseok squeaks, still gripping the door tightly, as if he was afraid the chain wouldn’t be strong enough to hold you back should you decide to use brute force to push in.

You sigh. “I’m not going to kill you.”

Hoseok hesitates, trying to read your expression, attempting to identify your true intentions.

When he finally lets you in, you immediately tackle him and tickle him all over, causing him to drop to the ground in a fit of laughter.

“Don’t you dare put me in that sort of situation ever again” You warn as you continue to tickle his squirming body underneath you.

“Ok , ok, ok” Hoseok says, begging you to stop. You finally release him after deciding you’ve tortured him enough.

“So why’d you do it?” You ask as the two of you are just lounging on the couch in Hoseok’s messy living room. Setting up a date like that was uncharacteristic, even for a goofball like Hoseok. You’ve know him all throughout college, and you know he’s not the type to go out of his way like that just to get you on the dating scene, and of all people, he wouldn’t have chosen Jungkook for no good reason, because you had previously made it perfectly clear to him that you weren’t going to consider it.

Hoseok sighs and proceeds to talk about Yoongi and a date they went on a week ago.

“He was drunk the other night, and started spilling all kinds of things about Dr. Jeon. He really cares about him, you know. I could hear it in his voice. “ Hoseok stares blankly at a coffee stain on his carpet that has almost faded, but is still noticeable. “He told me about how Dr. Jeon struggles with his emotions. How he dedicated his life to figuring out who that person who constantly shows up in his dreams is. How he basically gave up living a normal life because of that desperation. And now I know how the dude finished the MD-PhD program at such a young age. I personally think it’s taken a toll on him. Yoongi was telling me how much he secretly struggles and all that.” His voice is steady, but you could hear the subtle pain and concern coating his words.

Hoseok looks up at you and sees the tears streaming down your eyes. “Hey, Y/N, it’s ok. Yoongi says he’s gotten better recently,” He says softly while handing you a tissue.

You didn’t even realize you were crying. It’s like all the emotions welling up inside of you had just manifested as salty fluid that was escaping through your eyes.

“Sorry, Hobi, I don’t know what went over me” You sniffle, trying to hide the fact that everything he was saying was breaking your heart into a million pieces.

“The reason I was so adamant about you and Jungkook was because Yoongi said he’s noticed changes in his mood every since you joined the lab. And you know, I just thought…” Hoseok trails off, probably uncertain of what to say next.

You lift your hand and place it gently on his shoulder, conveying that you understood. Hoseok has always had a kind heart. He was literally the personification of sunshine itself, and you always knew he couldn’t stand seeing people suffer and not do anything about it when he knows he can help out in some way. You knew that Jungkook was suffering from internal turmoil, but you didn’t know it had affected him so deeply. You had always made yourself believe that you loved him more than he loved you because he always seemed ethereal and too good to be true, but now thinking about how you had considered giving up so easily, when Jungkook had been trying so hard to hold on to even less than what you had, makes you feel almost unworthy of his love. And it wasn’t the fact that he loved you enough to search for you against all odds that made your heart clench in your chest, it was the fact that he never let go of you, just like the way he held your hand by the lake so long ago.

“How has Jungkook been recently?” Taehyung asks as he’s lying in bed waiting for Jimin to join him.

“He’s doing so much better. He’s so close that I almost just want to tell him.” Jimin’s voice comes from the open bathroom door where he was still brushing his teeth.

“You must let him discover his fate naturally,” Taehyung says firmly, knowing that it was their jobs to guide and not force. Because although emotions like love are strong, unbreakable, and seemingly everlasting, it’s also vulnerable at the same time. Once it’s gone, it never comes back between the same two people. Like when you lose your feelings for someone, how could you ever expect to get those same feelings back? Everything changes, and this chaotic universe does not wait for anything or anyone.

“That’s why I was very cautious,” Jimin says as he turns off the light and crawls into bed next to Taehyung. The temperature under the sheets is warm because of the warmth radiating off of Taehyung’s body, a sensation that makes Jimin feel so incredibly good. “I’m more worried about Y/N. She’s the one who has to deal with the uncertainty.” Jimin lies on his back and stares at the ceiling.

Taehyung hums in agreement, also wondering how you are doing. Since you discovered the reason behind your vivid, emotion filled dreams after the surgery, you had stopped having therapy sessions with him, so he wasn’t updated on your situation any longer. But one thing he knows for certain is that things were definitely not easy for you, having had first had experience himself. “Do you know what it was like to call out for you and realize you would never come back?” Taehyung says after a moment of silence. He holds back the tears welling up in his eyes as he recalls the multiple times he was searching for Jimin only to be let down by the cruelness of life.

“I know.” Jimin voices softly. “It’s a loneliness that makes you feel so powerless. Like wanting something you know you’ll never have.”

“And even when you came to me, that euphoric happiness made me even more afraid of losing you.” Taehyung says as he scoots closer to Jimin on the bed, the latter does the same, allowing Taehyung to wrap his arms around him. “Sometimes I would cry until I felt numb because my emotions were so overwhelming.” Taehyung buries his face in Jimin’s fluffy hair, which smells faintly of his citrus scented shampoo, and Jimin leans into Taehyung, feeling the firm stability of his comfortingly soft chest.

The two of them just lie quietly in the dark, not needing to exchange anymore words because they both understood each other’s feelings, having been each other’s only comfort for what seems like centuries. Lying on the bed that they share and hugging each other tightly under the faint glow of the moonlight through the window is all they could ever do in moments like these, because this kind of physical proximity was the closest thing to forever.

“So I’ve recently come up with a new hypothesis that extends upon my original research on cognitive perception and consciousness, and I’ve reached out to a theoretical physicists who studies parallel universes.” Jungkook says as you walk into his office. He was still holding the Physics magazine in his hands and looking at an article in it, making you wonder how he was even able to notice you walk in.

It never fails to surprise you how easily he makes it seem to just go back to this sort of professional relationship once you’re back in lab. He doesn’t even bring up the events that happened over the weekend, nor does he attempt to. Yes, you’re well aware that acting professional and putting on a mask is what he does best, but the with the way he treats you sometimes, you can’t help but wish he would at least allow you to help in some way since Hoseok has already told you everything. Maybe make it easier for you to tell him what you know, but what do you say when you’re still so confused yourself?

“But Dr. Jeon, what do parallel universes have to do with perception?” You ask knowing he’s probably going to say something along the lines of “parallel universes have everything to do with perception”, but you still wanted a clear explanation because you didn’t know where Jungkook’s mind was running off to this time.

He smiles and looks up from the magazine.

“What is perception?” He asks, looking at you and waiting for an answer.

“Umm, do you want me to write up a detailed report on it?” You bite your lip, hoping that Jungkook won’t take the question as a sign that you’re lacking basic neuroscience knowledge, but what does he expect when he asks an open ended question? Does he want to test if you understand the underlying mechanisms, the cellular processes that contribute to it, the parts of the brain involved, or does he want you to take a more psychological approach to describing it? All of that could take hours to explain.

“No, just the basic definition” His voice cuts through your jumbled thoughts.

“Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information” You reply without hesitation.

“Yes, and so what if there are things that our neurosensory systems could not pick up?”

“Then the circuit would be missing a vital piece of the first level.”

“So vital that it would completely hinder any other process in the later levels.” He finishes. “Or so, that’s what physicists believe.”

You ponder over the things that Jungkook has just brought up. Yes, it makes perfect sense that your brain wouldn’t be able to perceive things that were invisible to all of your sensory systems, but hasn’t it been established that selectivity mechanisms in the brain also play a role in perception? Like your brain can choose what and what not to perceive? Just like how it constructs a reality? This was all starting to get even more confusing, and it really blows your mind how Jungkook can even make sense of it all.

“Have you heard of the famous astronomer Kim Seokjin?” Jungkook voice snaps you back to the reality that is his office and you standing in front of him, most likely looking very confused.

You shake your head.

“I read his most recently published paper, and it sparked a new idea. It’s already commonly accepted that we live in a multiverse, a collection of possible universes flowing in parallel, but how they exist simultaneously has been heavily debated.” He pauses, waiting for you to absorb the information he has basically just thrown up in the air. “We’re talking universes where the laws of physics are different and where matter isn’t made up of atoms but some other type of particle that is unable to interact with those in this universe because it is off by some minute degree in the fabric of space-time, which is why we aren’t able to sense and thus perceive it.”

“I’m sorry Dr. Jeon, I’m not too familiar with theoretical physics.” You say, after realizing everything that just came out of Jungkook’s mouth has completely flown over your head.

He smiles again, this time standing up and walking towards you.

“I’m visiting his lab tomorrow” Jungkook says. He hands you the magazine he was reading. You look at the man on the front cover, broad shoulders and extraordinarily handsome. Man, what’s with all of these intellectuals being so visually attractive?

“You should come” You look up at Jungkook, realizing that you’ve been staring at the cover photo for a little too long.

“Oh, O-ok”

...

[kuwaiti-kid]

What Jurassic Park Taught Me About Personal Finance

*Jurassic Park movie and book spoilers below*

There has always been something thrilling and enticing to me about dinosaurs.

They seem like a fantasy, but they were real-life monsters that actually walked this earth. And, though they are terrifying, there's something attractive about them too. They seem to threaten humanity as the dominant species, even from their extinction — reminding us that we're lucky to have made it this far.

The Jurassic Park franchise, especially the first movie, does an incredible job of capturing this idea and sharing it with its global Hollywood audience.

I've always been a dinosaur junkie. Growing up in the early 1990s, I was too young to catch the theatrical release of Spielberg's Jurassic Park movie. I had my fair share of dinosaur pop-up books and action figures though.

Later, I had full-on kids' dinosaur encyclopedias. In high school, I finally watched all of the Jurassic Park movies (the first 3 that were out, at the time) and I read both of the Michael Crichton books. This inspired a years-long period of Michael Crichton fandom and science fiction consumption.

Now, I write a blog about early retirement. I'm realizing that many of the moments that make the original movie so special also apply to personal finance. Maybe my nerd colors are showing, but I feel a similar sense of intrigue and excitement when it comes to financial planning.

Here's why Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park movie applies to personal finance and means more to me than being just CGI and sharp teeth.

There’s a Sense of Excitement and Possibilities

The opening sequences of both the Jurassic Park book and movie build tension and excitement about the possibility of the dinosaurs. Could scientists really achieve this dino re-boot? And if so, should they? The plot has viewers asking themselves these questions, both in the fictional movie realm and in real life.

When our archaeologist heroes finally arrive at Isla Nublar with dozens of the re-born creatures in full view, it's an iconic scene in cinematic history. Groundbreaking CGI (that still holds up decently well, considering its age) and an extraordinary music score from John Williams solidify the sense of wonder and was truly unprecedented for 1993 viewers. The main theme still gives me goosebumps, even today.

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In the movie, the paleontologists, kids, and businesspeople alike (especially John Hammond) experience moments of joy and awe at the sight of the living dinosaurs. I like that both Crichton and Spielberg showed these people across a spectrum of ages and backgrounds — everyone is in awe of the dinosaurs, at least in some way.

The first time the significance of investing and financial independence “clicks” can feel the same way. The compound growth of your investments is an immensely powerful force. It's awe-inspiring. Financial independence can create simultaneous control and flexibility with your time. And, like the appeal of dinosaurs, personal finance affects everyone.

Over the past millennia, the concept of financial independence or retirement didn't exist until relatively recently. The ability to dictate your own schedule and priorities is a thrilling concept that, like the Jurassic Park movie, is really unprecedented in human history.

Be Skeptical — Bad Guys Take Advantage of Good People

In Jurassic Park, bioengineering company InGen seems to be motivated primarily by corporate greed. InGen has developed a groundbreaking technique that lets them harvest dino DNA and fill in the gaps so they can create healthy dino eggs.

Rather than using this technology exclusively for research or gradual entrepreneurship, the company goes all-in and develops a theme park attraction with about a dozen species (including ferocious carnivores). Any viewer or reader could sense that something was bound to go wrong.

In the book, and many of Crichton's other novels, there's an even stronger tone of warning. Crichton's stories repeatedly suggest that corporations are bound to take major risks to achieve possible profits, even at the expense of human lives and society as a whole. This worldview may sound extreme, but it's certainly a valid concern in today’s technological and business climates.

From early on, Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm was skeptical that the Jurassic Park experiment would go according to plan.

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Similarly, you need to maintain a level of skepticism and awareness when it comes to your investments and financial products.

Many people in the financial services industry are not obligated to act in the individual's best interest. Often, investments and insurance products are sold with huge fees and expenses that seriously reduce the benefit of the product. Customers need to be informed and very careful when making investment and insurance decisions.

You Need to Prepare for the Unpredictable

The Ian Malcolm character is a mathematician and he famously specializes in chaos theory, which the movie references multiple times. Chaos theory “seeks to explain the effect of seemingly insignificant factors. Chaos theory is considered by some to explain chaotic or random occurrences.”

Very small, unpredictable factors can cause ripple effects that lead to significant results.

The Malcolm character acts as the voice of author Michael Crichton — the voice of caution and reason in the face of the greedy, hasty InGen corporation. Through the plot, Malcolm is proven correct as the park's plans unravel and the death count grows.

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Many of chaos theory's implications can be applied to personal finance, too. Seemingly small or isolated events can lead to major changes in your own financial situation or in the global economy. So, it's best to be cautious and be prepared. Be aware of the risk and manage it. Some of the best ways to do this are to increase your financial literacy, diversify your investments, or make the retirement transition more gradual and strategic through semi-retirement.

Don't Go at it Alone

As a bit of a corollary to the chaos theory takeaway, the Jurassic Park movie shows the danger in avoiding or disregarding expert input. None of the scientist consultants in the movie were comfortable with InGen's plans for resurrecting dinos. InGen was blinded by their own greed and John Hammond, specifically, was blinded by his own enthusiasm — even though the movie portrays him as good-natured, in a way.

In the book, Hammond is killed by the dinosaurs and it takes more of a righteous punishment tone, due to his lack of caution in designing and managing the park.

The Jurassic Park heroes (Malcolm, the paleontologists, and the kids) make it out of the park alive, thanks to their sober critical thinking and problem-solving abilities — skills that InGen lacked.

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In the same way, it's incredibly valuable to not approach your finances completely on your own. Seek professional input from a fiduciary advisor, if you have questions. Engage with the personal finance blogging community to encourage you on your journey towards financial independence. If you have savvy friends or family members, ask for their advice too when you're not sure how to move forward. You will develop your own sense of what advice is right and wrong. You'll be encouraged, and you'll realize that if a financial product seems too good to be true, it probably is.

It's Not About Dinosaurs (or a Big Bank Account)

The Jurassic Park movie masquerades as a prehistoric thriller, full of monsters and sci-fi-induced adrenaline. But really, as Crichton intended it, it was a cautionary tale. Jurassic Park is about the evils and selfishness of big business, the imperfections of humanity, and a lack of understanding and respect for other life and for the earth's history.

Likewise, personal finance isn't just about running up a high score in your retirement account. Progressing towards financial independence is about higher values that it can unlock — controlling your own future, self-actualization, flexibility, and creating a life that's in line with your own values and goals.

Maybe I'm just a dinosaur and money nerd, but I love seeing the parallels between these two topics. There's something beautiful that the Crichton books, the original film, and the financial independence movements all share — humble reminders of the best and worst of what we can be as humans.

The post What Jurassic Park Taught Me About Personal Finance appeared first on Your Money Geek.

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[asmajm7-blog]

Reflection

One of the most intriguing books I was inspired by in this course was ‘On Growth and Form’ by the Scottish mathematical biologist D’Arcy Thompson who focused on explaining how the individual organism, like Darwin, ignored certain patterns in nature that later generations of mathematically-minded biologists have closely observed. Hence, tt is noteworthy to mention that his book ‘On Growth and Form’ continues to serve as a necessary antidote to the over-robust assertions of some of Darwin’s successors.

It could be said that the last two decades have witnessed what we might describe as a post-genomic revolution with the rise of epigenetics has come a much broader understanding of the processes of development and the forces underlying evolutionary change, and the emergence of a new integrated research field, evo-devo. Darwin described On the Origin of Species as “one long argument” for natural selection. Thompson’s book stands concerning this new field as Darwin’s does to natural selection. The conventional development strategies divided majorly assessments of safety in phase I from the evaluation of initial efficiency in the assessment of phase II and assessment of benefit connected to the current standards of care with random contrasts in phase III. Traditional discrete models entail numerous ineffectiveness and pause between the research phases while experts interpret the outcomes, the design, and introduce the study that follows. Furthermore, while registering the participants of the trials demonstrating different comorbidities, cancer environments, and treatment histories.

On the other hand, the article ‘Why Systems Surprise Us’ explains how human brain is incapable to comprehend  a lot of the means in which the world operates, but it is never enough. The knowledge of people is appreciated, yet their ignorance could arguably be described as “fantastic”, as humans are capable of enhancing their understanding, but not perfect it. Both of these duality sides are believable, as one would eventually learn from the examination of the systems. Not all of On Growth and Form has stood the test of time. Newer techniques have superseded his discussion of cell structure. Thompson’s emphasis on morphology – shape – and the physical forces that determine it abandons any reference to physiology or biochemistry, though he would surely have been delighted to see how the multiple coiled structures of proteins, the double helix of DNA or the crystalline form of a virus conformed to his mathematical principles. Similarly, he would surely have acknowledged how elegantly the biochemical processes that underlie pattern formation and through which his formulae are expressed have been uncovered.

Nevertheless, it is possible to hum along to them without losing the gist of the argument. The reissue of a facsimile edition for the centenary is welcome, though abridged editions are more approachable; having read On Growth and Form, you will never look at even the tiniest of living forms the same way again. For Darwin’s early followers (though Darwin himself was much more cautious), natural selection is à la carte, unconstrained by any forces other than those of fitness to an organism’s environment. It is at this point that Thompson intervenes. With his mathematical background, he was struck by how precisely the shape and form of living organisms conform to simple mathematical laws, the equations that generate patterns, cones and pyramids, spirals and waves, and the topological rules of geometry. The title of the book itself strongly suggests the required constraints under which natural selection acts and which it cannot by itself explain. Alternately, systems surprise us because they are compilations of some of the ways our mental models fail to take into account the complications of the real world. At least those means that one can see from a systems perspective are warning lists. That is to say, one cannot navigate well in an interconnected, feedback-dominated world unless they take their eyes off short-term events and look for long-term behavior and structure. In other words, unless one is aware of false boundaries and bounded rationality and take into account limiting factors, nonlinearities, and delays.

The growth and form of living organisms, just as much as of inanimate crystals, are subject to physical forces that determine their shape. The myriads of minuscule radiolarians that float in the sea have crystalline forms matching snowflakes. A jellyfish and a drop of water have similar configurations. Consider the almost perfect hexagonal pattern of the compartments of a honeycomb. Even Darwin attributed this elegance to the bees’ instincts or conscious intentions. Thompson shows how, given each compartment’s hard wax walls and soft interior, the hexagonal space-filling pattern is an inevitable consequence of the close packing of the compartments – the same six-sided columns are formed if you make a set of bread balls and squeeze them together. Environmentally Sustainable design is also referred to as the eco-design or the environmentally conscious design as well. It refers to the knowledge of ecological sustainability principles, the built environment, and structuring physical objects. The objective of sustainable design is to eradicate the adverse environmental effects through tactical, sensitive models. The manifestation of sustainable structures needs renewable resources, minimally affect the environment, and link people with natural ecology. Individuals do not have a population issue, as the design problem. In case people were to make cities, factories, homes, furniture, tools, and other products with proper keenness from the beginning, they would not even require contemplating about it in terms of water scarcity, contamination, or wastage.

Magnificent structures enable recycling, abundance, and pleasure. Therefore, innovations in immunology and biology continue to enhance people’s comprehension of cancer immunity’s systematic suppression, angiogenesis, survival, and explaining possible tumor-cell growth mechanisms. However, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US approval placed on 5.1% of oncology medicines introducing trials between 2006 and 2015, which translates innovations in preclinical understanding into excellent cancer treatments, was historically impossible. Trying to hurry the development of the timeline, the companies that engage in pharmaceuticals have initiated the first-in-human (FiH) researches designed to receive a broad spectrum of patient information that substantially exceeds the size of a characteristic phase I design. Accordingly, the FDA considered more than 36 Investigational New Drugs that include expensive trials of FiH. Most trials have gathered more than one thousand patients, and some have a handful of admitted approximately 2000. Even though they are diverse in their details, such trials typically examine efficiency at many schedules and doses as well as include numerous expansion cohorts that span several organs, or the biomarker oriented tumor types. Attempting to consolidate clinical phases of drug development into a single, repeatedly amended, FiH protocol, sponsors have conducted these trials in ways that can be described as “seamless designs.

For Darwin’s early followers (though Darwin himself was much more cautious), natural selection is unconstrained by any forces other than those of fitness to an organism’s environment. It is at this point that Thompson intervenes in his book ‘On Growth and Form’ with his mathematical background, as he was struck by how precisely the shape and form of living organisms conform to simple mathematical laws, the equations that generate patterns, cones and pyramids, spirals and waves, and the topological rules of geometry. Hence, his book discusses the constraints under which natural selection acts and which it cannot, by itself explain.

It could be said that the growth and form of living organisms, just as much as of inanimate crystals, are subject to physical forces that determine their shape. For example, the myriads of minuscule radiolarians that float in the sea have crystalline forms matching snowflakes. Another example could be of a jellyfish and a drop of water have similar configurations, considering the almost perfect hexagonal pattern of the compartments of a honeycomb.

Darwin attributed this elegance to the bees’ instincts or conscious intentions, and Thompson shows how, given each compartment’s hard wax walls and soft interior, the hexagonal space-filling pattern is an inevitable consequence of the close packing of the compartments – the same six-sided columns are formed if you make a set of bread balls and squeeze them together.

In the Darwinists’ view, ‘virtually every feature of a living creature, from the colored banding pattern of a snail’s shell to the bilateral symmetry of the human body, is an adaptation.’ In the Darwinists’ view, ‘virtually every feature of a living creature, from the colored banding pattern of a snail’s shell to the bilateral symmetry of the human body, is an adaptation.’

Wonders that are more mathematical follow. The spirals of a sunflower seed head, like the whorls of a pinecone, are arranged in a Fibonacci series – in which each turn of the spiral has several seeds that are the sum of the two preceding numbers. A similar pattern is found in the broadening spirals of a snail shell. Thompson’s illustrations show elegantly how the shapes of seemingly varied species of fish are simple topological transformations one of the other, the sleek streamlines of the parrotfish transformed by simple equation into the rounded body of the angelfish. Mechanical constraints shape skeletons, antlers, and horns. The development of pattern – a tiger’s stripes, the lizard’s multicolor scales, the veins on a butterfly wing – all can be modeled mathematically. Thompson’s emphasis on the shapes and patterns of life forms and their self-organizing capacities, rather than their molecular components, restore our understanding of (and wonder at the beauty of) organisms as wholes rather than a mere assemblage of parts. Physical science and philosophy stand side by side, and one upholds the other. Without something of the strength of physics, philosophy would be weak; and without something of philosophy’s wealth, physical science would be inadequate. Nevertheless, there are fields where each, for a while at least, must work alone; and where physical science reaches its limitations, physical science itself must help us to discover. Meanwhile, the appropriate and legitimate postulate of the physicist, in approaching the physical problems of the body, is that with these physical phenomena, no alien influence interferes.

[angrycollectordaze-me-blog]

Paper代写：Oral-B Pro-Expert Deep Clean Toothpaste

下面为大家整理一篇优秀的paper代写范文- Oral-B Pro-Expert Deep Clean Toothpaste，供大家参考学习，这篇论文讨论了欧乐B的牙膏。欧乐B是牙科专家推荐的第一大牙膏品牌，其创立于20世纪50年代，很快就发展成最受欢迎的牙科产品品牌之一。欧乐B品牌的牙膏含有微小颗粒，能有效地溶解斑块，这被认为是世界上最有效的牙膏清洁技术之一。与专业的牙膏相比，深层清洁的牙膏含有五倍小的微珠，使牙齿更容易清洁。

Introduction

Toothpaste is used daily by everyone as a personal hygiene product. The earliest form of toothpaste was found in Ancient Egypt. Addition of fluorides into toothpastes in the 1940s has significantly reduced the chance of dental problems. After centuries of development, toothpaste has taken a stabilized set of ingredients and become one of the necessary product for everyone. Compared to other personal hygiene products, toothpaste seems relatively safe, since it is a product used within the mouth on a daily basis. However, the seemingly safe product still contains negative health and environmental implications. Only by establishing a thorough understanding of a product can a customer fully trust it. Such an understanding is motivated by the need for a responsible member of the society to make sustainable life choices, and is based on extensive research on the product. This report will examine the ingredients and the manufacturing process of a popular toothpaste product to find out what these implications are. Based on the research, it has been found that there are many ingredients in the toothpaste that are hazardous to human health, especially when the dosage is increased.

Basic Information

The name of the product studied is the Oral-B Pro-Expert Deep Clean Toothpaste. It is promoted as the number one recommended toothpaste brand by dental experts (Oral-B). The Oral-B brand was created in the 1950s, and soon developed into one of the most popular brands of dental products. After the acquisition of the brand in 2006, the manufacturer of the toothpaste is now the Procter & Gamble Company located in Germany (Oral-B). The toothpaste contains micro-particles that perform actively to dissolve plaque, which is considered one of the most effective cleaning technologies in the world for toothpastes. Compared to a Pro-Expert Toothpaste, the Deep Clean one features microbeads that are five times smaller, which enables the teeth to be more easily cleaned (Oral-B). Regarding the safety of the product, however, Oral-B suggests that the toothpaste would only be safe and effective when used under directions. This means that there might be danger if one consumes more of the toothpaste than he or she should.

The ingredients in the toothpaste include “Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Sodium Hexametaphosphate,Propylene Glycol, PEG-6, Aqua, Zinc Lactate, CI 77891, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Gluconate, Aroma, Chondrus Crispus Powder, Trisodium Phosphate, Stannous Fluoride, Sodium Saccharin, Xanthan Gum, Silica and Sodium Fluoride” (Oral-B). The description, origin and functionality of these ingredients will be discussed in future parts of this report. The combination of ingredients is “unique”, according to the Oral-B website. Different ingredients target different dental health problems, including cavities, plaque, gum problems, sensitivity, stains, bad breath, tartar and erosion (Oral-B). In addition to the microbeads, Stannous Fluoride Complex is the other ingredient in the toothpaste that is featured in the product description page. This ingredient forms a “shield” within the mouth of the users, that provide protection from acid erosion for hours.

Health Hazards & Environmental Implications

Aqua, Zinc Lactate, Sodium Gluconate, Xanthan Gum & Silica are ingredients that are obtained from natural sources, which means that they have little negative health and environmental implications.The word “aroma” can refer to many different compounds, for example, peppermint. It is not specified most probably because it is from a natural source. Glycerin is a sticky fluid commonly used mica, industry as dissolving fluid, edulcorant and lubricant. It does not have any detrimental effect on human health when consumed. No stimulation for the skin and the eyes has been observed, either. There are two ways of obtaining Glycerin (Adhikari and Agus 1097). The first way is to produce it from natural oil, while the second is by chemical synthesis from propylene. In the process of chemical synthesis, which is the more stable and efficient way of producing Glycerin, large amounts of waste water are generated. Without proper treatment, the waste water is going to harm the ground water system at the location of the factory. Chondrus Crispus is also known as Irish moss which is a species of red algae growing along parts of the Atlantic coast. the powder of Chondrus Crispus is added to the toothpaste as a thickening agent which stabilizes the product. Since Chondrus Crispus grows abundantly, the use of this ingredient will cause little harm to the environment (Breyer).

Diatomaceous earth was used as the earliest tooth powder used by humans. The main component of diatomaceous earth is Hydrated Silica (Capinera). This compound is a find abrasive material that is effective in removing the plaque on the teeth, while minimizing the damage in the teeth. According to FDA, hydrated silica is considered “Generally Recognized as Safe” for humans.  The production of Hydrated Silica has become a relatively green process due to the chemically inert nature of it. Sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) is widely applied in the toothpaste industry which helps remove stains on the teeth and prevent the formation of tartar. The potential problems of pollution are not listed by either the US or the Canadian government, which indicates that SHMP is safe to produce under regulations (Dalpasquale et al). Propylene Glycol is used in the toothpaste as wetting agent. The toxin level of Propylene Glycol is even lower than salt, which makes it a safe ingredient as it only accounts for a small fraction in the toothpaste. CI 77891 is one of the many names for titanium dioxide, which is a fine power commonly used in food and cosmetics. In the toothpaste, CI 77891 functions as pigment. Normally CI 77891 wouldn’t pose any threat to the human health or the environment. According to FDA, the pure form of CI 77891 is considered safe with no harmful effects.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is used as a surfucant in toothpaste that separate molecules from each other to allow better absorption. SLS is a cheap ingredient but also effective in making the toothpaste work better through improved product-skin interaction. There are debates about the association between SLS with cancer, but no proof has been found yet (SLSFree). Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) is reported to be hazardous compound that is linked to abdominal burning or reproductive failure. Although FDA doesn’t not list TSP as hazardous under small dosage, customers certainly should be more cautious in using it, especially women and children (Seattle Organic Restaurants). Sodium Saccharin is an artificial sweetener and a cheap flavoring agent in toothpastes (Ryan). A Canadian study has shown the potential link between bladder cancer and Sodium Saccharin. However, this result has yet to be confirmed on a larger scale (Ryan).

PEG is the short for polyethylene glycol, and PEG-6 is one of the polyethylene glycol family members. PEG-6 is commonly used in cosmetic products as surfactants and cleansing agents. According to a report in International Journal of Toxicology, PEG compounds appears to be harmful for people with skin damage. It is thus advised not to be used for customers with damaged skin, as it contains multiple types of toxins including heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic compounds, which can induce cancer after long-term exposure. The ethylene oxide found in PEG will increase the chance of uterine, breast and brain cancers as well as leukemia. The 1,4-dioxane found in PEG-6 is yet another carcinogen that should be minimized. Although the 1,4-dioxane can be removed from cosmetic products at a reasonable cost, manufacturers have shown little interest in doing so. It is unclear whether Oral-B uses the vacuum stripping technology in removing the carcinogen. However, it is likely that it doesn’t, as it is an industry practice of saving cost.

Both Stannous Fluoride and Sodium Fluoride are sources of fluoride ions that reduce cavity. The benefits of Stannous Fluoride include the reduction of bacteria in mouth and tooth sensitivity. Overuse of Stannous Fluoride can cause stains in the teeth. Therefore, a warning should come with the package on the proper amount of toothpaste to be used each time.

Children under the age of 12 is also advised against using toothpaste with Stannous Fluoride in it. Sodium Fluoride has similar benefits as Stannous Fluoride. It also acts to repair enamel and prevent tooth decay. Excessive used of Sodium Fluoride can cause skeletal issues. however, Sodium Fluoride is safe for both adults and children to use (Denial). Besides health implications, Fluoride can also harm the ecosystem through destruction of marine and freshwater fish. Release of large amounts of fluoride into the environment will also cause harm to plants and trees (Clinch).

In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, the highlighted use of microbeads (tiny plastic balls) in the Oral-B toothpaste is posing the biggest environmental concern (Derbyshire). Due to the small size of the microbeads, most of them are able to go through the filters in the sewage and enter into natural water bodies. These tiny plastic balls are then consumed by planktons, which is the entrance of them into the food chain. As a result, hundreds of marine species have been found with microbeads in their stomach, with unknown health risks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although toothpaste is a seemingly safe product and Oral-B is a world-renowned brand, there are ingredients in the Oral-B Pro-Expert Deep Clean Toothpaste that are at least questionable for the health of the users. Most ingredients, including Aqua, Zinc Lactate, Sodium Gluconate, Xanthan Gum and Silica, are considered safe due to their natural origin and way of manufacture. SLS, TSP and Sodium Saccharin have been debated scientifically for their detrimental effects. Due to the lack of sponsoring and the limitations in conducting experiments, the claims of these ingredients to induce caner have yet to be fully proved. However, such a correlation should not be overlooked while choosing a product. Finally, both Stannous Fluoride and Sodium Fluoride are beneficial for dental health. But the entrance of fluoride can cause disturbances in the ecosystem. The use of plastic microbeads should also be banned, since it is the biggest environmental threat for this product. The detrimental effect on the marine animals and the entire food chain has already been confirmed. As a company responsible for the health of its customers, Oral-B should include clear instructions on the dosage of toothpaste to be used each time to minimize the potential health hazards. In addition, the implications should be listed in a manual of instruction, so that the customers are better informed about what they are using.

Works Cited

Adhikari, Sushil, Sandun D. Fernando, and Agus Haryanto. "Hydrogen Production from Glycerin by Steam Reforming Over Nickel Catalysts." Renewable Energy, vol. 33, no. 5, 2008, pp. 1097-1100.

Black, R.E., et al. "Occurrence of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetic raw materials and finished cosmetic products."J AOAC Int. 2001;84(3):666-670.

Breyer, Melissa. “What's in toothpaste? Toothpaste makers are constantly striving to build a better paste, but what exactly goes into these products that allows for their cavity-fighting, breath-taming, shine-inducing, gum-soothing, white-boosting magic?” Mother Nature Network. March 15, 2012. Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/whats-in-toothpaste

Capinera, John. Diatomaceous Earth. 2008.

Clinch, Carole. “Health and environmental concerns regarding the fluoridation of drinking water.” 19 November 2007. Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/pet_221_e_30308.html

Dalpasquale, Giovanna, et al. "Effect of the Addition of Nano-Sized Sodium Hexametaphosphate to Fluoride Toothpastes on Tooth Demineralization: An in Vitro Study." Clinical Oral Investigations, 2017.

Denial. “Stannous Fluoride vs Sodium Fluoride.” 10 June 2017. Dental Whale. Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://www.dentalwhale.com/dental-care/stannous-fluoride-vs-sodium-fluoride/

Derbyshire, David. " Ban the toxic beads now! Tiny plastic beads in everything from shower gel to toothpaste are poisoning oceans and threatening health. It's time for them to be outlawed" Daily Mail (London, England), 2016, pp. 8. Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3757440/Ban-toxic-beads-Tiny-plastic-beads-shower-gel-toothpaste-poisoning-oceans-threatening-health-s-time-outlawed.html

https://weather.com/science/environment/news/microbeads-microplastic-ocean-lake-river-aquatic-habitat-pollution

Oral-B. “About Oral-B.” Accessed on 16 June 16, 2017 from: http://www.oral-b.co.in/about/

Oral-B. “Oral-B Pro-Expert Deep Clean Toothpaste.” Accessed on 16 June 16, 2017 from: https://www.oralb.co.uk/en-gb/products/toothpaste-and-mouthwash/pro-expert-deep-clean-toothpaste

Ryan, David. “Saccharin Safety in Toothpaste.” 10 October 2015. Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/79281-saccharin-safety-toothpaste/

Seattle Organic Restaurants. “What is Trisodium Phosphate doing in thousands of consumer products, including kid’s cereals?” Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/trisodium-phosphate-paint-thinner-in-consumer-products-kids-cereals.php

SLSFree. “Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: Learn the Facts.” Accessed on 16 June 2017 from: http://slsfree.net/

Stolley, P. "A preliminary report of cancer incidence in a group of workers potentially exposed to ethylene oxide." Clinical Epidemiology Unit, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, April 25, 1986.

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[theconservativebrief]

All of a sudden, the news seems a bit more optimistic about America’s opioid epidemic.

On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who serves under President Donald Trump, pointed to new preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to suggest that the US may be “beginning to turn the tide” on the opioid crisis.

“The seemingly relentless trend of rising overdose deaths seems to be finally bending in the right direction,” Azar said at a health care conference, according to Politico. “We are so far from the end of the epidemic, but we are perhaps at the end of the beginning,” he added.

Azar’s comments followed reports by Stat and Opioid Watch pointing to recent CDC data, indicating that the deadliest drug overdose crisis in US history may be turning a corner.

The CDC data, which goes up to March 2018, does look positive. The number of drug overdose deaths appeared to peak in September 2017, when the predicted number of overdose deaths for the previous year reached more than 73,000. But in March 2018, the predicted number of deaths over the past year had fallen — down to a bit more than 71,000. (Not all overdose deaths are from opioids, but around two-thirds have been linked to opioids in recent years.)

Here’s how that looks in chart form:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you look at the line and dots above it, it certainly looks like the trend has slightly shifted downward. At the very least, it looks like drug overdose deaths might have leveled off.

As someone who has been covering the opioid epidemic for years now, I certainly hope this is true. But there are a few reasons I’m cautious:

1) The data is preliminary and subject to change. Overdose deaths could end up higher or lower than the data says right now. We just don’t know.

2) The recent positive trends only include six months from October 2017 through March 2018. Given that the opioid epidemic has now been building up for literally decades, this is a pretty small time frame for overdose data, and could be a blip more than a real downturn.

3) This happened before. Between 2011 and 2012, drug overdose deaths appeared to level off around 41,500. Then, highly potent synthetic opioids, particularly illicit fentanyl, seeped into the black market — and overdose deaths skyrocketed. In 2017, drug overdose deaths reached more than 72,000, based on the CDC’s preliminary data. Stanford drug policy expert Keith Humphreys said that “it’s reasonable to be cautious” about a new potential drop-off, given the past disappointments.

4) While the overall drug overdose deaths seem to have leveled off in the most recent six months of data, fentanyl deaths have continued trending up. In September 2017, synthetic opioid overdose deaths for the past year were estimated at almost 29,000. In March 2018, past-year synthetic opioid overdose deaths were estimated at more than 30,000. That’s an indication that at least one aspect of the opioid epidemic is still getting worse.

5) Fentanyl has so far mostly reached Appalachia and the East Coast, as fentanyl has increasingly been mixed with heroin on the black market or replaced heroin altogether. That’s been less likely in other parts of the country, especially the West Coast, in large part because it’s more difficult to mix fentanyl with the black-tar heroin that’s popular in the West. But that could change, said Sarah Wakeman, an addiction medicine doctor and medical director at the Massachusetts General Hospital Substance Use Disorder Initiative. If it does, overdose deaths could spike in western states, negating improvements elsewhere.

6) Overdose deaths linked to cocaine and stimulants (such as meth) have continued to trend up, according to the CDC data. They’re still not anywhere close to overall opioid deaths, but the rise may be an early warning sign of another drug overdose crisis to come. (Historically, it’s not unusual for cocaine or stimulant epidemics to follow opioid crises as people shift to other drugs.)

7) The March 2018 numbers are still worse than the March 2017 numbers, with the CDC estimating a 3.5 percent uptick in overdose deaths from the year up through March 2017 to the year up through March 2018. So although things may have improved for the better over six months, they still seem to be worse year over year.

8) Drug overdose deaths are still extremely prevalent. In 1999 (the early period of the opioid crisis), drug overdose deaths were below 17,000. They were above 72,000, or more than four times the 1999 total, in 2017. Even if deaths did level off in 2018, more than 700,000 people — more than the entire population of Boston — would die of drug overdoses over the next decade if there weren’t further declines. That should temper early celebrations.

With all of that said, there is reason to be optimistic. The painkiller and heroin numbers in particular are trending downward, pushing overall opioid and drug overdose deaths down even as fentanyl continues to tick up. The painkiller figures are a particularly good sign, Humphreys said, because it may indicate that fewer people are initiating opioid misuse and addiction through painkillers — which should lead to even better results in the long term as fewer people start misusing or get addicted to opioids in the first place.

The positive trends may be a result of some of some of the hardest-hit states getting to work on the issue. Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts in particular have taken steps to expand access to addiction treatment, particularly medications like buprenorphine and methadone that are considered the gold standard in treatment for opioid use disorder. Those states have seen drops in overdose deaths even as their New England neighbors — Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire, all of which have also been hit hard by the crisis — have not.

There also may be drops in overdose deaths in some Appalachian states, like Ohio and Pennsylvania, although West Virginia — which has by far the worst overdose death rate in the country — has continued to see increases in overdose deaths, based on the CDC data.

The state variation could indicate that, despite the lackluster response to the opioid crisis at the federal level, some local and state initiatives are pulling through.

Again, though, take the recent data with a grain of salt. I hope that I’m being too pessimistic. But in covering the opioid epidemic, pessimism has, sadly, served me very well.

For more on the opioid epidemic, check out Vox’s hub page for opioid coverage.

Original Source -> Trump’s health secretary says the opioid epidemic may be turning around. Not so fast.

via The Conservative Brief

[joffemd]

Florida Shootings Require Cultural & Mindset Changes

Our failure to prevent the Florida school shooting illustrates a pervasive problem in modern societies: we often have access to ample warning signs but all-too-frequently fail to leverage this information to avoid disaster. The issue not only impacts law enforcement agencies, but our financial institutions as well. To more effectively handle all the intelligence available to them, organizations will require major structural and cultural change. 

The FBI and local law enforcement reportedly had more than enough information to legally disarm and detain confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz before he killed 17 people at Parkland High on February 14. This is not the first such intelligence failure, and won’t be the last. Consider these examples:

9/11 could have been prevented had the CIA and FBI done a better job of sharing and handling intelligence.

Russian intelligence warned the FBI about Tamerlan Tsarnaev long before he carried out the Boston Marathon bombing.

In France, authorities failed to act on multiple clues that would have enabled them to prevent the Paris bombings that claimed 130 lives in November 2015. 

In the financial industry, rating agencies and bank risk management teams failed to act in their or their clients’ best interests when they continued to create and sell residential mortgage-backed securities, despite the deterioration in mortgage lending standards, and the increasing and disturbing amount of mortgage fraud being reported by the FBI in its annual mortgage fraud reports. A well-operating risk-management function, with a voice, would most likely have limited the potential for the cultural failures seen at the Royal Bank of Scotland, as detailed in the recently published report commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority. The extraordinary activities of the gung-ho Global Restructuring Group at RBS in London could immediately have been stymied, as they posed reputational and business risks far outweighing the group's short-term revenue-generating interests. As the report explains: 

“GRG enjoyed an unusual independence of action for a customer-facing unit of a major bank. It saw the delivery of its own narrow commercial objectives as paramount: objectives that focused on the income GRG could generate from the charges it levied on distressed customers. In pursuing these objectives, GRG failed to take adequate account of the interests of the customers it handled and, indeed, of its own stated objective to support the turnaround of potentially viable customers.” 

These assorted failures suggest that we have a systemic problem with risk monitoring, or a failure to incorporate it appropriately within institutions. And because the problem is systemic it won’t be solved by firing a few bad apples. Instead, we need to understand and address the root cause. 

One feasible argument is that jobs involving risk monitoring and mitigation generally come with a relatively low social status and thus do not necessarily attract the most motivated applicants. This phenomenon is epitomized by our (often unfair) stereotype of security guards: that they are ineffective and prone to sleeping on the job. Because security jobs are low paying, they don’t often attract type “A” individuals. The job itself is quite boring: most of the time nothing happens. While a more proactive security guard could find and act upon many clues during the course of his or her day, almost all of the extra effort will be for naught. At least 99 times out of 100 that suspicious backpack won’t contain an explosive device. 

Although bank risk managers and FBI call handlers undoubtedly have higher social status than security guards, they are most likely to be subordinated within their organizations. At a bank, monitoring credit risk is much less glamorous and lucrative than acquiring or merging companies, underwriting deals or trading securities. And, as with the case of the seemingly suspicious backpack, most clues won’t lead anywhere anyway: for every legitimate call law enforcement departments receive there are many that lead nowhere; a missed charge card payment, similarly, often doesn’t presage a mortgage foreclosure. 

Ideally, we should elevate the status of risk monitoring jobs and make them more exciting. More attention from senior management may help. Although most money-center banks took massive losses during the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs came out relatively unscathed. A major reason is that the bank’s Chief Financial Officer reviewed daily risk management reports and held a meeting in his office to call for immediate action once its was detected that mortgage backed securities had begun to underperform in 2006. Goldman is also an exceptional case in that it rotated fast-track talent between moneymaking and risk management roles, and it empowered risk management staff to veto certain trading activities. 

Although more high-level attention might help those charged with receiving and sifting through raw intelligence, the job is still a tedious one – akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Conviction Dilemma 

In addition to the possibility that risk monitoring personnel are as a group less motivated, risk personnel tend to be a more introverted type than their front-desk colleagues. This may manifest in their being apprehensive when expressing themselves to their comparatively more aggressive colleagues, and potentially come off as being indecisive or speculative.  Leaders often like a strong, definitive opinion: “hedge this risk!” and may shun or ignore a more complex opinion coming from a more cautious analyst. 

In short, the personalities hired into risk-management roles often suffer from what we will term the “conviction dilemma,” which emanates from the work of Philip Tetlock and others, who studied predictive expertise. Tetlock's research findings informed his commentary that those whose expertise was valued and sought out, for example pundits on TV shows like The McLaughlin Group, were those who had vocal, unequivocal opinions, that could be articulated with utter conviction – but were often wrong. 

Altogether, even strong and motivated risk experts may be introverted and may be indecisive when expressing themselves. Playing a function that is considered as subordinated in management’s eye, they might struggle to make convincing and resolute “do this!” arguments, and management might therefore be less likely to take them seriously, and act on them expeditiously. 

Applying Technology 

In the 21st century, we have learned to assign boring or laborious jobs to computers. We can identify potential attackers earlier by entering all the clues law enforcement receives into shared databases, and we have state-of-the-art data science tools built for analyzing this mass of information. This approach need not violate privacy: social media posts, calls from tipsters and prior arrests are all legitimately available to law enforcement today. 

Palantir is among the most prominent of companies offering software that enables intelligence agencies to find needles in the haystacks of raw data they receive. Unfortunately, Palantir is not an inexpensive solution, and may thus be beyond the budgets of smaller law enforcement agencies. 

Governments and NGOs may wish to invest in the development of free, open source data analysis. Aleph is an open source tool that can analyze large volumes of unstructured data. Although designed for investigative journalists, it could be customized for use by law enforcement of for counterparty tracking. Whether they use licensed or open-source solutions, law enforcement and intelligence agencies should establish and apply technical standards for data sharing. Because financial firms are overtly competitive, data sharing of financial intelligence may be less appropriate between competing firms, but may be more prevalent within institutions. 

Often the information needed to prevent mass killings is hiding in plain sight. By improving organizational structures and leveraging technology, financial firms and law enforcement agencies can harvest more actionable data from legally available information. Armed with this data, they can prevent certain future acts of carnage. While no single policy solution – VaR levels or gun control included – can ever guarantee endless success, we need to be thoughtful and dynamic in going about limiting the frequency or even the magnitude of these catastrophes, and we would do well to use our tools effectively in pursuing the goal not only of making money, winning clients and awards, but also of limiting the downside. --------------------- This piece was co-written by Marc Joffe, who consults for PF2, and members of PF2’s staff. For more on this topic, visit our 2016 piece on the detrimental impact of short-term thinking patterns on conduct with financial firms. Among other things, we recommend a re-thinking of the design of incentive structures: “The approach we put forward here is the studious linking of profit-sharing to successful and honest risk-taking and business practices.” Marc Joffe is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Reason Foundation and a researcher in the credit assessment field. He previously worked as a Senior Director at Moody’s Analytics. 

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[thesevisionsare-br0ken]

locksmith in close proximity to extended seaside

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