Weekly Filet #227: How Maths Saves Lives. And more.
1. Bias in the ER (Nautilus)
Humans are notoriously bad at understanding probability – and as a consequence make bad, unreasonable decisions, both in experiments and in real life. When you're in a hospital, you better hope your doctor knows a thing or two about probability. This excellent piece goes deep on the issue (and serves as a reminder that you should read Kahneman's «Thinking, Fast and Slow» if you haven't already).
2. Syria: Human Slaughterhouse (Amnesty International)
As if that war wasn't horrific enough already: Amnesty reports that up to 13'000 people have been tortured and killed in a single prison in Syria. And it gets worse once you get into the details of the report. Do read it anyway.
3. Where Slang Comes From (The Pudding)
A fascinating visual, data-driven explainer on how expressions like «Holosexual», «Gaslighting» or «Netflix and Chill» enter the mainstream vocabulary.
4. Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age (Pew Research Center)
A good primer on algorithms and how they influence (and shape) our lives, detailing seven major themes about «the algorithm era» (with the first two aptly titled «inevitable algorithms»).
5. The Daily (The New York Times)
After little more than a week, the NYT's new podcast has become a daily habit already. Give it a try (I thought the Goldman episode was the strongest so far, so I'm linking to that one).