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Daily Archives: November 3, 2020

Forget Everything You Know About Your Dog

Freakonomics: “As beloved and familiar as they are, we rarely stop to consider life from the dog’s point of view. That stops now. In this latest installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we discuss Inside of a Dog with the cognitive scientist (and dog devotee) Alexandra Horowitz. Listen and subscribe to our podcast at Apple PodcastsStitcher, or elsewhere. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post…”

America is a dog-loving nation. Hard numbers aren’t easy to come by, but it’s estimated there are between 77 and 90 million dogs in the U.S., with roughly 40 to 50 percent of households having at least one. We also have a lot of cats, but dogs appear to be a bit more popular. The pandemic has brought even more dogs into our homes, and made us even closer. So, how well do you know your dog? We may think we know them pretty well. But the fact that they are so familiar can actually make it harder to see dogs as they really are…”

How might we surface the nonverbal cues otherwise invisible in virtual meetings?

“Here’s something we’re still struggling with at Filament: How might we surface the nonverbal cues otherwise invisible in virtual meetings? The ability to see people and observe them observing us during work builds a framework for a lot of important parts of teamwork. It helps us establish trust, gain commitment, confirm understanding and consensus, or… Continue Reading

ABA Legal Fact Check details workings of the Electoral College

“An ABA Legal Fact Check on the Electoral College, which explores the history and workings of the constitutional body that formally elects the next U.S. president, is available here to assist reporters and editors working on post-election stories. In addition, the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law has subject matter experts available to help reporters… Continue Reading

Stop. Don’t Share That Election Rumor.

The New York Times – How to handle online voting misinformation or isolated cases of election problems. “Election Day is filled with unknowns. One thing we can count on like clockwork is seeing some of the familiar flavors of false or misleading information circulating online. My colleague Sheera Frenkel wrote that Americans on Tuesday may… Continue Reading

Election 2020: How to spot misinformation while you wait for results

CNET – “As expected, Tuesday night didn’t bring a final result in the presidential election, so we’re still targets for people trying to confuse the issue. The 2020 presidential election wasn’t over when the polls closed on Tuesday night. Calling the winner — President Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden — is taking longer than… Continue Reading

How Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit are handling the election

Ars Technica – The only thing messier than November 3 on social media might be November 4. “At long last, we are here at the deadline: after endless months, with roughly 100 million early votes cast, Election Day is finally upon us. There is very little we can project with certainty about the outcomes, except… Continue Reading

Tracking COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Surveillance and Data

CRS report via LC – Tracking COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Surveillance and Data, November 2, 2020: “Public health surveillance, or ongoing data collection, is an essential part of public health practice. Particularly during a pandemic, timely data are important to understanding the epidemiology of a disease in order to craft policy and guide response decision… Continue Reading

Taming Complexity

HBR – “In business, complexity gets bad press. That’s not surprising. It can be cognitively demanding to understand how a system or organization made up of many very different interconnected elements actually works. But the fact that such systems or organizations are difficult to understand doesn’t make them inherently bad. In addition to its more… Continue Reading