Sometimes, there’s a certain beauty to be found in picking a random thing and trying to learn everything you can about it.
See also the category of ethylene, the most obsessive investigation of all.
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All posts on obsessive investigation
Nursing doubts: Is breastfeeding good?
(how good? how do we know?)
If you ask the internet if breastfeeding is good, you will soon learn that YOU MUST BREASTFEED because BREAST MILK = OPTIMAL FOOD FOR BABY. But if you look for evidence, you'll discover two disturbing facts. First, there's no consensus...
It's probably just money: Why hosts do well at the Olympics
sometimes it's boycotts
They say that countries win more medals when they host the Olympics. But do they? And if so, why? I've seen various theories: 1. Jetlag. Maybe it's because athletes from the host country don't need to travel as far. 2....
Is there a homeless crisis?
A look at the data.
A few years ago, I took a look at the data on homelessness in the United States. We now have new data (and a new reality) so let’s revisit things, this time in superior list format. 1. After holding steady...
Conspiracy theory: Electric cars make more air pollution than gas cars
tires + battery + heavy
Claim: Per kilometer driven down the road, electric cars create more particulate air pollution than gas cars. That’s ignoring all other emissions and anything that happens at a power plant or during manufacturing.
WHO aspartame brouhaha
the territory under dispute
On July 14, two different arms of the WHO released their findings on aspartame. One designated it “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, while the other concluded that “dietary exposure to aspartame does not pose a health concern”. The FDA took the...
Numbers without which it's impossible to talk about weight loss
You lose glycogen before fat. Glycogen is heavy.
We lose weight when we burn more calories than we eat. But how much weight do you lose for a given caloric deficit? This isn’t complicated. But it’s not trivial either, because the body has two forms of energy reserves:...
A modest proposal: For preventing the heat in bathwater in Britain
FROM BEING A WASTE TO THE BATHER AND COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING IT BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLICK
Europe is in an energy crisis. There are lots of things that might be done, but most are slow or expensive or painful or don't accomplish much. But here's a little daydream: 1. We use lots of energy to heat...
How much does a CT scan affect life expectancy?
If you get a CT scan (or an X-ray or a nuclear medicine scan) is it worth worrying about the radiation?
You're probably aware that if you get a CT scan, that exposes you to a fair of radiation. But I've always wondered—how much should I care about that? So here's an attempt at a rough estimate. As always, I think...
Blocked persons and letters of marque
What are letters of marque and reprisal, and who is on the US's list of Block Persons?
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the US Constitution reads: "The Congress shall have Power to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;" What are these Letters of Marque...
Aspartame: Once more unto the breach
Like it or not, there's a clear scientific consensus
Look, I get it. Diet Coke tastes sweet because it has aspartame in it. Aspartame is a weird synthetic molecule that’s 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Half of the world’s aspartame is made by Ajinomoto of Tokyo—the same company that...
Diet Coke probably isn't a cognitive performance enhancer
Investigating the (aspartame → phenylalanine → dopamine) theory
"Very ambitious and successful and competitive and rich person loves Diet Coke" has been in the news recently, and friend of the blog Aaron Bergman proposes a theory as to why. Spelled out in more detail, it goes like this:...
Why nuclear weapons aren't getting bigger
Nations could build nuclear warheads much more powerful than they have now. But they have no interest in doing so. Why is that?
The Little Boy bomb detonated over Hiroshima in 1945 was a fission weapon where a critical mass of uranium-235 created a chain reaction of atoms splitting into lighter atoms, releasing energy and neutrons. While such weapons are very destructive, they...
So you want to invent a nuclear weapon
From atoms to big boom.
1. You’re in the mood for destruction. One day, you hear about this phenomenon of “radiation” where matter gives off energy. You think—perhaps you can harness this property of nature to make a big boom. Apparently matter is made of...
A breakdown of the data on the homeless crisis across the U.S.
Many people see a homelessness crisis, but what does the data say? We examine different locations, rates of change, types of homelessness, and mental health and substance abuse issues.
Is the US in the midst of a homelessness crisis? Many people think so, but that's largely based on based on anecdotes. What does the data say? At a glance, this doesn't look very crisisy. Since 2015, things have gone...
The main thing about P2P meth is that there's so much of it
Since around 2009, methamphetamines have been made with phenylacetone (P2P). Is there a chemical different causing schizophrenia?
Sam Quinones was recently on Econtalk and in the Atlantic talking about methamphetamines and homelessness. He points out that “old” meth was made from ephedrine and that “new” meth is made from a chemical called Phenylacetone or P2P. He suggests...
Two conspiracy theories about cola
Does cola contain a drug to prevent you from throwing up from the sugar? And is Mexican Coke somehow better than American Coke?
Our first conspiracy theory has all the best qualities: 1. It sounds insane. 2. At first, the facts seem to support it. 3. Later, the facts lead to disquieting reevaluations of the medical system. So here's the conspiracy: "Cola has...
The big alcohol study that didn't happen: My primal scream of rage
Why did a huge alcohol RCT get cancelled? A strange story of science, academia, bureaucratic maneuvering, ambition, politics, capitalism, the deep state, secret emails, and slippery ethical slopes.
What does drinking do to your health? We can say two things with confidence: 1. Drinking is associated with lots of health problems. 2. Heavy drinking is bad for you. Here's a graph of some associations. Someone who averages 10...
A review of early split-brain experiments
What happens if you cut your brain in half?
What happens if you cut your cortex in half? When this was first tried on animals, the answer seemed to be not much. But starting in the late 1950s, a series of experiments found that very weird things happen under...
Alcohol, health, and the ruthless logic of the Asian flush
Why did the Asian flush evolve? What does this say about alcoholism? What does this have to do with Odysseus?
Say you’re an evil scientist. One day at work you discover a protein that crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes crippling migraine headaches if someone’s attention drifts while driving. Despite being evil, you’re a loving parent with a kid learning...
Napoleon's failure in Russia as an analogy for T-cell based viral immunity
How the immune system's memory cells are like the Russian strategy for resisting Napoleon's invasion.
In June of 1812 Napoleon assembled the largest European army in history and invaded Russia. After months of bloody fighting, the French finally arrived in Moscow in September, surprised to find the city mostly abandoned. That night, remaining Russians set...
What happens if you drink acetone?
How dangerous is it to drink acetone or nail-polish remover? Here's the key scientific facts, compared to ethanol.
Question: Should you drink acetone? Answer: No. But, out of interest, what if you did? This question is asked repeatedly on the web, with with many answers smugly stating that even tiny amounts of acetone will instantly kill you, you...