March 2024 updates
Happy March!
Writing
A new essay about dogmatism.
Links and Recommendations
Joint statement in support of hepatitis C human challenge studies — a short article arguing in favor of human challenge trials for hep C. Human challenge trials involve volunteers being deliberately infected so that drugs can be tested more quickly. The NIH refused to allow challenge trials during Covid, which I think was one of the biggest humanitarian disasters we've seen in a while.
WWII week by week: One of my new favorite YouTube channels.
David Donoho (a famous statistician, if that's not oxymoronic) with a hot take that recent progress in AI isn't actually about deep learning, but instead about frictionless research exchange, allowing good ideas to be rapidly spread, executed, and improved
Terry Tao on working hard.
Looking for Alice, a beautiful essay about love.
Hugo Mercier on why gullibity and misinformation are overrated.
Tyler Cowen argues against Jonathan Haidt's thesis that smartphones are ruining a generation of kids.
Stay curious,
Ben