2/26/21 Recommended Issues: Smallpox Vaccine, Renaming Mascots, Malpractice Lawsuits

Good day!

Each week we handpick newsletter issues by independent writers you may have missed that provide new or unique perspectives. 

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Here's what's worth reading this week...enjoy!

HOW WE GOT THE SMALLPOX VACCINE

A Slave, a Minister, and a Renegade Doctor in The Cottage, by Diana Butler Bass on Feb 23

 If you haven’t heard the story of how the smallpox vaccine came into existence in America, it’s quite a fascinating tale involving a slave, a minister, and a doctor. They also completed one of the earliest recorded clinical trials, showing that only 2% of vaccinated people died vs 15% of the Bostonians who contracted smallpox. Part of what Diana also asks you to think about is who in society accepted or rejected the idea of the vaccine (interestingly, and perhaps counterintuitively, the doctors were against it and clergy were for it) -- and how that affected its adoption.  And yes, clearly you can apply this question to today’s situation with vaccines, new medicine, etc… but also know how it is today in America isn’t how it has always been. (1291 words; 4.75 minutes) Read it...

RENAMING MASCOTS & UNIVERSITIES

What’s in a name? In Extra Points with Matt Brown on Feb 22 

The renaming of mascots, brands, schools, etc, due to political correctness isn’t exactly new news, but Matt prods on a slightly different angle than normal. He references a school named “Dixie”, which (surprise!) is not in Mississippi or Alabama, but in Utah (!). While “Dixie” has one meaning to many people outside of the university town of St. George (likely harkening thoughts of slavery and the Civil War), it apparently has a very different (positive, warm & fuzzy) meaning to the people in the town itself who are at an uproar about the possibility of change. Matt’s big question is who really should get to decide about a school’s (or a whatever’s) name -- school admins, trustees, alumni, current students, the town, the state, etc? How should the decision be made and who should be involved in it? (1527 words; 5.5 minutes) Read it...  

MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS & EXPERT WITNESSES

Malpractice, Expert Witnesses, and Lawsuits with Dr. Eric Funk in Out-Of-Pocket, by Nikhil Krishnan on Feb 13

This an intriguingly informative piece about medical malpractice in the US, with some comparison to other countries as well. Nikhil and an expert IN expert witnesses explain how malpractice actually works, why cases go to trial vs. settle (and why physicians tend to win when they go to trial), how malpractice lawsuits affect the amount of testing physicians recommend, and more. They also highlight some compelling research with clear data visualizations that help the reader understand even better. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re at all interested in the healthcare system in the US and want to be more informed on how it works, why it works that way, and what in the world it might mean to you as a consumer of medical services (2257 words; ~8 minutes) Read it...
 

IN NEWSLETTERS: AUSTRALIA FIGHTS WITH GOOGLE & FACEBOOK

The big battle that Australia picked with Google and Facebook has been all over newsletters recently... If you'd like to know more on the situation, here are some of the best newsletters that went deep on it: Marketing BS, Stratechery, BIG (strong anti-monopolist viewpoint), Webworm (a writer from inside Australia), The Platformer (several issues).


Some interesting facts from newsletters this week:

• Maersk, the world's largest shipping container company expects its first carbon-neutral ship to be operating in 2023, instead of a previously planned 2030. Not only carbon-neutral, but 7 years ahead of schedule seems impressive! The Diff 2/19

• In 1995, Switzerland (with a population of <8 million people) had 750,000 troops -- which was over 9% of its population!) Wow. For perspective, in 1995, the US had ~1.5 million active duty military personnel (only 2x that of Switzerland), but with a population over 32x bigger (261M) . Switzerland did do a gradual ramp-down to a more reasonable 80,000 troops by 2020 (~1%). Why is this Interesting 2/23

• 70 percent of nursing homes in the US operate as for-profit businesses, far more than other healthcare facilities. (Only around one quarter of hospitals, for example, are for profit.). Patient treatment and outcomes showed some differences in for-profit vs. non-profit as well; perhaps not surprisingly, yet still sadly, treatment and outcomes weren't always as great when maximizing $ was the incentive.  The Daily Poster 2/22

• Who knew? The first coffee-houses appeared in Mecca in the 15th century, spreading to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century...and then to London in 1652. It didn't take long before Barmaids showed up on the scene (between 1670&1685). Timeless & Timely 2/17

• The Parent Data newsletter had a great little mathematical model for calculating the covid risk of vaccinated grandparents being around grandkids (which can be easily extrapolated to vaccinated people being around non-vaccinated people)... it's down towards the bottom of the post and you can plug in your own numbers. Parent Data 2/18

Hopefully you learned something worthwhile!

And if you're looking for any specific newsletters to read, feel free to email me or explore narrowSCALE.

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Best,
~Jessica