Simon Jenkins: refreshingly philosophical about Trump

President Trump Postlaunch Remarks (NHQ202005300037) by NASA HQ PHOTO is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Let’s keep our Alans on!” These are the words of a character in the Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, at a moment when the speaker and his chums have been thrown into a particularly invidious situation. For the benefit of overseas readers, the phrase means “keep calm and carry on”.

Which is what all of us who call ourselves progressives must do upon the election of Donald j Trump as 47th President of the United States of America. We may consider this outcome regrettable, his policies somewhere between deplorable and suicidal. The ever-objective Simon Jenkins of the Guardian offers a different perspective. [1] One that is calm, measured, but above all offers a psychological way forward. You must read his article for the full force of his argument But here its its essence distilled

The fact that 56% of non-graduates supported Trump suggests a strident voice from well outside the liberal camp. That voice opposes anti-police funding, the preoccupation with diversity and woke culture wars on campus. It indicates a working-class hostility to a superior elite that has shown little interest in its concerns. Progressive America must recognise its shortcomings and reargue its case. That is the opportunity Trump has so generously offered.

Even after the Fall of Rome, courageous souls like St Augustine and Cassiodorus did not sit around in sackcloth and ashes, wailing “sad songs on the death of kings” They picked themselves up and asked two questions. “Why did this happen?” followed by “where do we go from here?”

Themes to which we will return in the following weeks

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/08/trump-terrible-silver-lining-progressives-reflect-liberals

#woke #political correctness #liberalism #conservatism #donald j trump #usa

Knocking out the genes in agressive cancer

Can we really, really intervene late, and save someone with even quite advanced forms of cancer? According to research reviewed Ian Sample of the Guardian, it may be possible sooner than you think. [1]

According to Ian, this hope lies in the destruction of something called extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA). No, we’d never heard of it either. Apparently it takes the form of little lumps of DNA which break off from your chromosomes and go swanning around on their own. Until recently it didn’t seem to matter much. But it seems the fragments contain all kinds of genes to suppress the immune system and foment the growth of tumours. Not surprising then, the fact that they seem to show up in 17.1% of cancers [2] However, be of good cheer, for there is further news. A class of drugs called CHK-1 inhibitors may be just the ticket to take down and wipe out these pesky little fragments.

Why did we like this story this morning? Well, Ian Sample is nearly always good for something interesting. Also he has the best monniker for a science journalist anywhere. We liked the intellectual discipline of the paper(15000 patients, 39 types of tumour,etc). Best of all we liked the fact that the whole study has grown partly on the initiative of Cancer Research UK. That marvellous body whom we have plugged before on these pages. [3] So the Moral of the Story is clear, gentle reader. Giving money to them works, Spending money on scientific research makes for better outcomes than throwing it over the bar at the Dog and Duck. And that people who denigrate and deny the findings of scientists, and/or cut their funding represent a very clearw and present danger to us all.

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/06/zapping-rogue-dna-key-treating-aggressive-cancers-study

[2]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08107-3

[3]https://donate.cancerresearchuk.org/donate?gclid=01b5ce4ce3c919c4ae82a9607f32384e&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=01b5ce4ce3c919c4ae82a9607f32384e&utm_source=bin

#cancer #medicine #health #dna

Fake news and misinformation: two hopeful suggestions

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Hayek once observed that, as the amount of information in the world grows exponentially, each one of us becomes proportionally more ignorant. And into this vast hollow of ignorance flows a torrent of malevolencies, lies, falsehoods, facts, opinions, theories, half-truths and wholly well meaning attempts. How to sort out the good from the bad,? The wheat from the chaff? The (that’s enough bucolic metaphors-ed) It’s a question of vital importance, especially on a day when a democracy as mighty as the United States of America goes to the polls. Well, we have two possible ways forward for you today, both of which we think lie on the well-meaning attempts part of the spectrum

First up is Professor Clodagh Harrington of the Conversation. [1]She expands upon on the work of a film maker called Friedrich Moser. In a film called How to Build a Truth Engine, he discourses broadly on an eclectic range of psychology, neurology, journalism and history, asking and re-asking the question “how do we know what we know?” We haven’t seen the film, we confess, but the article is erudite, honest and provocative. Above all, we valued this killer quote, which just about sums up the deadly danger we are all in

……truth is often diluted, polluted or drowned out completely in our daily communication torrents. This, combined with the nefarious agendas of bad actors means that individuals, communities and our way of life are under significant threat.

Nature Briefings treats the whole thing as a medical problem. No surprise there. In a piece called Can we Inoculate against Fake News?, they report:

Psychologist Sander van der Linden believes that there’s a dangerous infection spreading globally — misinformation. He also has a way to combat it: ‘inoculating’ people against misinformation to stop them from believing and spreading it, in an approach analogous to vaccinating against viral infections. The concept of ‘prebunking’ involves first warning people that they might be intentionally misled, then showing them a mild form of misinformation. There is evidence that the approach can lessen the persuasiveness of falsities, but critics argue that the method places the onus on the individual and absolves social media companies that might profit from spreading lies.Science | 10 min read

Well-how do we know what we know? It’s a question at least as old as Descartes. His generation had the luxury of knowing they wouldn’t blow up the world if they couldn’t answer this question. We are not so fortunate. Right now the lies seem to have an enormous cabal of dictators, tycoons and hucksters behind them. A few lonely academics and one hit journalists are pitifully small in comparison. But unless we keep trying, as these brave people do, this time we are surely lost.

[1]https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-a-truth-engine-documentary-makes-for-sober-but-crucial-viewing-in-our-age-of-disinformation-242554?utm_medi

#fake news #misinformation #internet #algorithm #lies #descartes #democracy

It’s an interconnected world, or: How we learned to stop worrying and love Donald Trump

Two days out from the US Presidential Election. For weeks now, our anxiety has been growing. Are they really going to elect That Man? Again? After all he did to their security, alliances, economy, health? Has Democracy itself failed? The mere fact he has got so far suggests Democracy is very, very poor at solving its problems.

And then the lightbulb moment saved us. We were listening to a BBC piece on Radio 4 about the attempts of various UK Governments to control illegal immigration. Onto the show they tipped an expert who warned “any attempt to control the people smuggler gangs will fail, because their leaders live mostly in the Middle East.” In other words people smuggling is a multinational business. Like IT, oil, fashion, fast food, transport, automotive manufacture. Some of these many giant businesses operate within the law(most of the time, anyway) Some like drug dealers and people smugglers tend stay outside it. But the economic and technological forces driving them are the same. The world is a very small place thanks to modern technology, and the rules of supply and demand are infallible. Economies of scale evolve that are far beyond the jurisdictions of nation states.

Which brings us back to the US elections. The people who will (probably) elect Donald Trump are not bad, mad or stupid. But they are frightened and bewildered. Because the very concept through which they view the world (the nation state) is now utterly inadequate to contend with the problems we face. Things like global warming, pandemics and the mass migrations of people are so obviously beyond the competence of even the largest national entities as to make their individual policies irrelevant. Suddenly a vote for a President, Prime Minister or whatever becomes like gripping the gear lever on a failing car. Whatever you do, it suddenly makes little difference. In that sense, the rise of Donald Trump is a sure and infallible signal of the utter failure of national politics everywhere. It states more clearly than anything that the time has come to look long and hard for an alternative. And, as that truth, it should be welcomed.

#donald trump #us elections #global warming #nation state #world government

Round Up: Unpleasant drinks, New antibiotics for old, weight loss and clever cats

What’s in the water? Water is good for you, beer is bad. True, up to a point, especially for those of us who worry about our girth. But think before you drink, as they say. There may be more in that innocent glass of tap water than you bargained for, as this piece from The Conversation makes clear. Forever Chemicals in our drinking water……………

https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-are-in-our-drinking-water-heres-how-to-reduce-them-241645?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%

Clever moggy finds new virus Ailurophiles of all lands will applaud the tale of this serendipitous kitty who brought home a mouse that contained a hitherto-unknown, and rather scary virus, to his biochemist owner. Here’s the Daily Mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14021477/florida-rodent-virus-human-infection-potential.html

Antibiotics from the past Leafing through our old pharmacopoeias and other databases may yet be an important new source of antibiotics. God knows we need to look anywhere and everywhere. Fortunately, Science Alert shows the way, with really good graphics(yes we always like those)

https://www.sciencealert.com/forgotten-antibiotic-from-decades-past-could-be-a-superbug-killer

Can weight loss drugs boost your mental health? We at LSS recommend no drug or substance, as we are not doctors. But we will report on new reports about those drugs, provided these are covered by reputable outfits such as New Scientist. Here’s one about new research into possible mental health benefits of these new weight loss drugs which are so fashionable in today’s Zeitgeist, as t’were. Two caveats: once again, don’t do anything with these until you’ve spoken to your doctor; and, moreover, you’ll have to jump the paywall on this one. _{Thanks to G Herbert}

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26234953-900-the-surprising-mental-health-and-brain-benefits-of-weight-loss-drugs/

#weight loss #mental health #antibiotic #cat #pollution #forever chemicals #serendipity #medicine health

Reason or Unreason: which will give you a better life?

What happens when you apply reason to solve your problems? And what happens when you give way to emotions, like fear or anger? Two stories from Nature Briefings illustrate the consequences rather nicely, we think.

Reason: New developments in RNA therapies Older readers, who remember as far back as the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, may recall how a little thing called an RNA vaccine began to make a big difference. Since when a lot of time has passed, and RNA medical technology has come on leaps and bounds. Don’t take our word for it, read this, RNA treatments nearing reality

As early as the mid-1990s, scientists suggested editing molecules of RNA as a treatment for certain diseases, but at the time, they lacked the tools to do so. Around thirty years later, those tools are at our disposal. Editing RNA instead of DNA has several advantages. It’s a process that cells perform naturally, it doesn’t risk permanently altering a person’s genes and it doesn’t introduce bacterial enzymes to human cells as CRISPR-Cas9 gene therapies do. The field of RNA editing may be in its infancy, but pharma companies are already testing its use in some types of eye disease and cancer.Science | 13 min read

For the record, it’s worth clicking on the link, because the article is very clear, with some truly awesome graphics

Unreason: Let’s chuck foreigners out of our Universities Now try this:

A surge in far-right parties entering governments across Europe is raising concerns for science. Policy experts warn that these parties typically show no interest in research and innovation, leaving scientists vulnerable to budget cuts. In the Netherlands, researchers are bracing for €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) in cuts to the university and research budget under a coalition government including the anti-Islam Party for Freedom. The coalition also wants to limit the intake of international students and implement rules that would require universities to apply for permission to teach courses in English, which could trigger an exodus of foreign academics who don’t want to, or can’t, teach in Dutch.Nature | 5 min read

Chuck out foreigners! Don’t let those evil English speakers corrupt the purity of our language! The really odd thing about this for us is the parallel with football . The most successful Universities are like the most successful clubs(compare the Imperial College with Manchester City, if you like) The trick is to create centres of excellence, drawing in the very best talent you can find, and taking a relaxed view of things like native language, dress sense and marital customs. There is often a strong overlap between certain types of football fan and support for right wing parties. Do they really want their favourite team to send home all the foreign players?

#football #university #learning #reason #unreason

If Keir Starmer wants to grow the UK economy, he needs to play the Research

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party came to power on a pledge to clear up Britain’s economic mess and, above all other things, create growth. But how to do it? It is a question that has bedevilled British Governments since the country first began to fall behind in the late Victorian era. And no amount of reforming government has ever halted the inexorable decline, which feels supporting like a football team slowly slipping down the leagues. Remember Manchester United?

Yet how did Britain first rise to inordinate wealth and power in the Georgian period.?(let’s leave the constitution for another day) The answer is that, by luck or design, Britain took full advantage of the scientific and intellectual advances of the Enlightenment, more so than any other country. [1]The result was the Industrial Revolution, which provided an absolute step change in human productive capacity. Sadly for Britain, other countries quickly learned the lesson, better and more thoroughly than the British pioneers. And here we are today.

Yet there may be a way out of this trap. We have long tried to sing the praises of research and development as the real drivers of economic growth. But candidly admit-we’ve struggled. Now a most erudite yet readable article from the Guardian by Andre Gein and Nancy Rothwell makes the case with levels of data back up we could never match [2] Get this for a killer quote:

It is recognised as having a much higher rate of return than average for capital investment across government spending lines (every £1 of Higher Education Innovation Fund investment at research intensive universities delivers £12 to the economy).

Starmer and Reeves should ignore the groans of the terminally old and selfish. Real patriotism would embrace tax rises, if these are then invested in the long term future of our universities, And the network of schools that feed them of course. It’s time to play a big card, and this is a gambit that will work.

[1]Enlightenment Roy Porter Allen Lane 2000

[2]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/26/scientific-research-needs-robust-government-backing-not-treasury-penny-pinching

#universities #research and development #economics #industrial revolution #britain #enlightenment

In a world without a reserve currency, Gold is King

It is June 2025, and the world has learned that it no longer has a reserve currency, a role hitherto held by the US Dollar. The chain of events which began with the election of Donald Trump by a disputed majority in the Electoral College (readers will recall he lost the popular vote) have now reached their logical conclusion. You will also remember how attempts to enforce the result by the US Supreme Court could not be accepted by some States who alleged, with some justification, that the Court was no longer an objective and unbiased institution, Their de facto secession, pending a recount, undermined the integrity of both the US Treasury and Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, attempts by the Provisional Trump Administration to impose import tariffs (20% on all comers, 60% on China) have only led to a retaliatory fire sale of Treasury Bonds and other US assets, which led to this morning’s news of the suspension of dollar convertibility. The United States of America (or rather the three new nations into which it seems to be splitting) is no longer at the centre of the world’s financial system.

But, as of this summer of 2025, do we still have a world financial system? Attempts by the BRICS nations to set up their own reserve must end in failure. The lack of transparency in their systems(one or two are more or less open kleptocracies) mean that no one dare trust them to hold their money . The Euro area is too small and fragmented to possibly bear such a role, and their can be other candidates. How can world trade now be anything more than a slightly sophisticated form of barter?

Yet there is one measure by which value is judged. And always has been. Gold has been prized as the ultimate yardstick of worth by humans, and has been by for millennia. It is transportable, it is tradeable, and its price is known at once by everyone in the market. History suggests that world trade works best when most reserves are held by a single, hegemonic power(think Britain before 1914 or the US before 1971) But even if the world’s gold is diffused across the vaults of many competing nations and empires, it can still provide a standard against which everyone can measure the value of their trades. Expect its price to rise now for the rest of 2025, and perhaps even more next year.

#US dollar #world trade #BRICS #reserve currency #gold

Intriguing new discovery sheds light on how we learn languages

We have a confession. After more than thirty years studying Spanish, we still struggle, sometimes badly. Not so much when reading! There’s nothing like a Kindle and its dictionaries to help with all those tricky words. Or even when listening to things like the news and weather on the TV. No, it’s when a group of them are talking excitedly, perhaps in the studio during a football match. That’s when it comes out like: YélbalónestáconhaveeuupasuhdelanterocouthojMadreepotpourrismamporrerodeharrikane chichinaboakadebandamenaosmalmalgooooooooooooooooaol! And that’s on a good day.

Now an article from the multi-learned Nicola Davis[1] of the Guardian suggests what may be going wrong. Up to know, we have always assumed to that one listens to individual words and then assembles them into a meaningful pattern. But according to Professor Liina Pylkkanen of New York University, something different may be happening. It seems humans recognise groups of words, sometimes very fast indeed. And this happens when they are in the grammatical pattern of the listeners native language. In English this is Subject-Verb-Object. And the Professor even seems to have found a region of the brain where this may be occurring.

Of course, none of this is to say that one cannot acquire a really fluent understanding of another language. We know this, because we’ve met people who are much, much better at it than we are. But it does shed light on what to do if you want to get better at your listening skills, Yes, books are a fantastic way to begin to build a vocabulary, word by word. But there will come a time when we have to tackle those words in groups, unbroken by the gaps which you find in a text. The trick is to pick out recurring groups of words. Thank you Nicola. Thank you Professor Pylkkannen.

//www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/23/human-brain-can-process-certain-sentences-in-blink-of-an-eye-says-study

#neurology #linguistics #language learning #nicola davis #spanish

Stress: the biggest brake on economic progress

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Why do we keep shedding so many teachers from the profession? It’s the same for Police Officers, Doctors, lawyers, you name them. So many professionals, of so many different sorts, are quitting from seemingly well-remunerated, interesting jobs after only a few years. And after all that expensive training, too! Of course, there are going to be many factors to which zealous undergraduates of some of the more flinty economic schools may point. But for us, the elephant in the room is, and always has been, stress. The endless piling of conflicting new demands, regulations and priorities on people already working at the limits of their time and energy. The overwhelming flow of data compliances, complaints and inspections, and the need to be available 24 hours every day, for the whole 365 days of the year.

The article we present today, written by JD Murphy for the Guardian, is admittedly an extreme example. The writer was a former Fire Services Commander, dealing with some of the most harrowing circumstances with which an empathetic mind must confront. Yet the central ,lurid, fact (they rang him while on holiday for stress, demanding more work) is central to the experience of millions. [1]

The endless demand for results-short term, pressing, urgent-has led to a colossal erosion of human capital. More than that, it distorts and poisons the whole quality of life. It has led to the massive misallocation of resources and time. And has produced an economic model which is now destroying the planet. The time has come to explore new ways of running the economy and new ways of measuring fulfilment. We shall be looking at some in weeks to come’

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/21/fire-brigade-commander-stress-ptsd-grenfell-tower

#stress #PTSD #illness #health #churn