As discussed previously, this is my weekly Twitter roundup. Note that tweets of articles generally include header images from the articles, which are not included here unless they happen to be available under a free license. Most are not. But I now add most of my commentary here, where I’m not restricted by the message length.

diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week

I also don’t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

9:02 – Mon 22 November 2021

The concrete effects of body cameras on police accountability from The Conversation

Police officers were 64% more likely to be subject to disciplinary action after a complaint investigation.

It’s good to see that the cameras work. Although I hope that there are also studies about how often they’re used to violate civil liberties, since a quick video at the door can expose information that should require a warrant.

12:05 – Mon 22 November 2021

You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother’s bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest.

Smohalla

9:03 – Tue 23 November 2021

How to Make the Holidays Happier for the Postal Service from OtherWords

A bill to repeal this pre-funding mandate and put USPS on a stronger financial footing enjoys strong bipartisan support.

While I hate the “we can fix XYZ by…hoping that Congress does something” genre of stories, this ongoing situation happens to be fairly interesting. We keep learning more about how thoroughly sabotaged the United States Postal Service has been for decades—even ignoring Louis DeJoy—and the agency comes out looking better every time, for being as successful as they have been.

12:04 – Tue 23 November 2021

These lakes, these woods and mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none.

Minavavana

9:01 – Wed 24 November 2021

The ancient origins of glass from Knowable Magazine

Glazes based on the same materials and technology date earlier still.

Glass doesn’t seem like something that should be so old, but the evidence says otherwise.

12:02 – Wed 24 November 2021

We do not ask for riches; we do not want much; but we want our children properly trained and brought up. We look to you for that. Riches here do no good.

Red Cloud

9:05 – Thu 25 November 2021

Baby’s Superpowered Scent Can Manipulate Parents’ Moods, Researchers Find from Voice of America

We humans like to think we are above all that. But scientists are increasingly finding that odors affect us more than we think.

The science is shaky in this study, but it’ll be interesting to see where it goes.

12:03 – Thu 25 November 2021

There are a good many poor people and old women that have no one to look out for them, and they ought to get those hides.

Hollow Horn Bear

9:04 – Fri 26 November 2021

Inflation or price-gouging? from Pluralistic

“Good at pricing” is my new favorite euphemism for profiteering.

It was probably too late for Doctorow to write about, but prices also started dropping shortly after fines were required for shipping companies that waste time. A coincidence, I’m sure, and not exposing that the inflation fears were…well, artificially inflated.

12:01 – Fri 26 November 2021

If your love be such, and it bring forth such fruits, how cometh it to pass, that when we come to Patuxet, you stand up on your guard, with the mouth of your pieces presented towards us?

Corbitant

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, here are any additional articles that didn’t fit into the week, but too weird or important to not mention.

To decontaminate your mask, pop it in the oven from Futurity

…heating to 70 degrees Celsius (approximately 160 F) killed more than 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses researchers tested, meeting FDA guidelines for decontamination.

This is certainly not the most critical story in the world, but for those traveling between houses for the holiday season, this may be useful information. During the holidays, it’s much easier to find a warm oven than a free washing machine or an ultraviolet light sanitizer.

Ubuntu’s Implications for Philosophical Ethics from the Montreal AI Ethics Institute

A communal (harmonious) relationship includes two different strands: Identity and Solidarity.

The background is that the Bantu’s ubuntu philosophy, which we could simplify to “I am, because we are”—or that the humanity of humans rises from our relationships—is often ignored as somehow primitive. So, the article/paper thinks about it in terms of competing against modern ethical theories, presumably with an eye toward applying it to artificial intelligence, given the institution.

Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.