Author Archives: jgordon

“offered reassignment to the Indian Health Service, which is the sort of thing that Elon Musk’s crew of young sociopaths probably regard as a funny joke”

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https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/continuing-crisis-part-x-reductions-force-gains-centralized-power

Sociopaths or brats? Bad parenting or just bad luck?

“If a senior Trump appointee told me it was raining, I would first stick my head out the window for confirmation, and second make sure that they weren’t just pissing on my shoes.”

James Bruce, traveler: “he travelled by land from Tunis to Tripoli, and at Ptolemaida took passage for Candia; but was shipwrecked near Benghazi and had to swim ashore”

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bruce

18th century Scot, best known for first euro to trace Nile to Ethiopia. Fun wikipedia bio.

“presently returning to the desert to recover his journals and his baggage, which had been abandoned in consequence of the death of all his camels”

“several analysts remain focused less on recession calls than on trying to make sense of why so many people are feeling down about their economic lives.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/business/economy/wealth-cash-inequality.html

The article notes much wealth growth is not liquid – including home equity. So it overstates prosperity for many. Decreases in cash balances a hint.

I am happy at least some experts are asking the important “why”.

“collapse followed quickly after the leaders of these polities inexplicably and suddenly abandoned principles and practices that had successfully underpinned state-building and social stability”

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https://www.nationofchange.org/2024/09/04/political-collapse-lessons-from-fallen-empires/

“China’s Ming Dynasty, the South Asian Mughal Empire, the High Roman Empire, and Renaissance Venice … the loss of citizen confidence in the leadership can trigger an unexpected unwinding of the societal threads that underpin inclusive forms of cooperation and devotion to a governing system designed to realize common good”

This topic needs more research but the short paper reminds us great empires can collapse very quickly for no obvious reason. Civilization is not a very stable condition.

From Signal to Arendt to falsifiability.

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https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/03/26/atlantic-releases-signal-thread

Arendt of course: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.”

Antivaxxer wealth: “Mercola as a “quack tycoon” since a news report in 2019 revealed his net worth to be north of $100 million”

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https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-mercola-tapes-one-of-the-wealthiest-antivaxxers-in-the-world-is-scammed/

Ally of JFK. There is *great* opportunity in scamming the vulnerable. I wonder if most of his victims are mostly MAGA.

Good comparison to the fall of Prasad. These people often believe. And they tend to fall deeper and deeper into delusion.

“age-specific prevalence of dementia in this country [has] steadily declined for 40 years”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/health/dementia-rates-elderly.html

For 85-89yo prevalence 23% in 1905 cohort, 1915 18%, 1935 11%, 1945 8%.

Reasonable explanations include BP meds, statins, decreased smoking, better air quality. I’d add fewer lifetime head injuries — Boxing was extremely popular from 1920s to 1940s and nobody wore helmets at work or play. I suspect the incidence will stabilize at around 8% though.