Heather Douglas
@heatherdouglas.bsky.social
Philosopher of science, gardener, swimmer in cold waters
Good discussion of how to think about trust in science (and pursue it in practice) youcanknowthings.substack.com/p/trust-issu...
Trust issues: public health in a NYC comedy club
A night of stand-up, storytelling, and uncomfortable truths about why public health has lost trust.
youcanknowthings.substack.com
April 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Good discussion of how to think about trust in science (and pursue it in practice) youcanknowthings.substack.com/p/trust-issu...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
Fun fact: Clean energy costs keep getting cheaper as technology improves and more capacity is deployed. Fossil fuels stay roughly the same cost to deploy, while volatile commodity costs spike whenever global markets tighten.
One of my favorite facts:
In 1975 solar panels cost $115 per watt, which means it would have cost $1 million to put solar panels on your roof.
Today, you can buy solar panels for less than $0.25 per watt.
https://www.distilled.earth/p/the-remarkable-growth-of-solar-power
In 1975 solar panels cost $115 per watt, which means it would have cost $1 million to put solar panels on your roof.
Today, you can buy solar panels for less than $0.25 per watt.
https://www.distilled.earth/p/the-remarkable-growth-of-solar-power
December 13, 2024 at 4:23 PM
Fun fact: Clean energy costs keep getting cheaper as technology improves and more capacity is deployed. Fossil fuels stay roughly the same cost to deploy, while volatile commodity costs spike whenever global markets tighten.
Reposted by Heather Douglas
It's that time for recommending Books of the Year. I seemed to spend a heck of a lot of my time reviewing this year, so I have quite a few to choose from. In no particular order...
December 11, 2024 at 12:36 PM
It's that time for recommending Books of the Year. I seemed to spend a heck of a lot of my time reviewing this year, so I have quite a few to choose from. In no particular order...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
"Call me impractical or romantic, but for my money, the hunger for meaning is as basic as the craving for food. The fundamental questions aren’t luxuries, and people will always find a way to ask them..."
The Hunger for Meaning - Daily Nous
“It is tempting to dismiss Peterson as a stupid person’s idea of a smart person. But perhaps he is just a desperate person’s idea of an intellectual lifeline.” That’s from Becca Rothfeld’s recent Wash...
dailynous.com
December 10, 2024 at 12:37 AM
"Call me impractical or romantic, but for my money, the hunger for meaning is as basic as the craving for food. The fundamental questions aren’t luxuries, and people will always find a way to ask them..."
All of this. So much hypocrisy, and still, it will not help.
Yeah, I wasn't expecting to write this either.
If you have any pithy and unpleasant comments, please feel free to address them to literally anyone else.
open.substack.com/pub/jamescla...
If you have any pithy and unpleasant comments, please feel free to address them to literally anyone else.
open.substack.com/pub/jamescla...
The Extrajudicial Murder of Health Insurance CEOs is Bad, Actually
I was going to write something light-hearted, as a break from writing about research misconduct, but needs must as the devil drives.
open.substack.com
December 6, 2024 at 8:09 PM
All of this. So much hypocrisy, and still, it will not help.
What is priced and not priced is so destructively dissonant
"In fact, global markets don’t seem to be taking climate change or climate policy seriously" - @volts.wtf, 2011
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
grist.org/climate-poli...
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
grist.org/climate-poli...
Markets and climate change: A case of cognitive dissonance
Earlier this month, Nicholas Stern — respected U.K. economist and author of the famed Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change — cast a spotlight on what he calls a “profound contradiction at t...
grist.org
December 2, 2024 at 10:19 PM
What is priced and not priced is so destructively dissonant
Working on research ethics and/or societal impacts of science and technology? Consider responding to this request for info from the NSF. Deadline is Dec. 13! Help shape the future of responsible research. www.nsf.gov/pubs/2024/ns...
Dear Colleague Letter: Request for Information on the CHIPS and Science Act Section 10343. Research Ethics (nsf24127) | NSF - U.S. National Science FoundationLock
www.nsf.gov
December 2, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Working on research ethics and/or societal impacts of science and technology? Consider responding to this request for info from the NSF. Deadline is Dec. 13! Help shape the future of responsible research. www.nsf.gov/pubs/2024/ns...
I have always found bucket lists unappealing and a bit oppressive. Thanks, Helen, for illuminating why!
Here's a post I wrote arguing against bucket lists (I think they are simply not useful, contribute to harmful mass tourism without enriching people's experience, encouraging people to put off goals for play and recreation until retirement.
helendecruz.substack.com/p/against-bu...
helendecruz.substack.com/p/against-bu...
Against bucket lists
This picture shows a line of climbers attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
helendecruz.substack.com
November 30, 2024 at 3:29 AM
I have always found bucket lists unappealing and a bit oppressive. Thanks, Helen, for illuminating why!
Reposted by Heather Douglas
📢Are you an early career researcher, interested in how science is communicated, reported, & the evolution of the scientific ecosystem? Applications are open for the Royal Society Publishing Early Career Researcher Advisory Panel.
Find out more: ow.ly/MaTk50U71W3 #ECRs
Please repost!
Find out more: ow.ly/MaTk50U71W3 #ECRs
Please repost!
Royal Society Publishing Early Career Researcher Advisory Panel | Royal Society
Are you interested in shaping the future of scientific communication? Apply to join our new ECR Advisory Panel.
ow.ly
November 22, 2024 at 12:18 PM
📢Are you an early career researcher, interested in how science is communicated, reported, & the evolution of the scientific ecosystem? Applications are open for the Royal Society Publishing Early Career Researcher Advisory Panel.
Find out more: ow.ly/MaTk50U71W3 #ECRs
Please repost!
Find out more: ow.ly/MaTk50U71W3 #ECRs
Please repost!
Working on AI governance or AI ethics? Royal Society Open has a call for work in this area. (Just found out about it, but the call is still open!) royalsociety.org/blog/2024/09...
Making the most of AI’s potential: cross-disciplinary perspectives on the role of AI in science and society | Royal Society
Royal Society Open Science has commissioned a new collection of papers exploring the impact of machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and Big Data within science and society.
royalsociety.org
November 27, 2024 at 3:24 PM
Working on AI governance or AI ethics? Royal Society Open has a call for work in this area. (Just found out about it, but the call is still open!) royalsociety.org/blog/2024/09...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
Next week I'll be on one of my bundled trips that, in addition to teaching 7 classes, 1 workshop, and 4 other events, also includes 3 public talks - Sun Dec 1 in Shepherdstown WV, Wed Dec 4 at Dickinson College, and Thurs Dec 5 at UPenn.
www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-co...
www.dickinson.edu/Hayhoe
www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-co...
www.dickinson.edu/Hayhoe
November 27, 2024 at 3:27 AM
Next week I'll be on one of my bundled trips that, in addition to teaching 7 classes, 1 workshop, and 4 other events, also includes 3 public talks - Sun Dec 1 in Shepherdstown WV, Wed Dec 4 at Dickinson College, and Thurs Dec 5 at UPenn.
www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-co...
www.dickinson.edu/Hayhoe
www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-co...
www.dickinson.edu/Hayhoe
Reposted by Heather Douglas
⚡️Gazprom plans for end of gas transit via Ukraine after 2024, Reuters reports.
Kyiv has indicated it will not extend the transit deal, ending over 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe — a vital revenue stream for Russia since the Soviet era.
Kyiv has indicated it will not extend the transit deal, ending over 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe — a vital revenue stream for Russia since the Soviet era.
Gazprom plans for end of gas transit via Ukraine after 2024, Reuters reports
Kyiv has indicated it will not extend the transit deal, ending over 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe — a vital revenue stream for Russia since the Soviet era.
kyivindependent.com
November 26, 2024 at 11:48 PM
⚡️Gazprom plans for end of gas transit via Ukraine after 2024, Reuters reports.
Kyiv has indicated it will not extend the transit deal, ending over 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe — a vital revenue stream for Russia since the Soviet era.
Kyiv has indicated it will not extend the transit deal, ending over 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe — a vital revenue stream for Russia since the Soviet era.
Reposted by Heather Douglas
Reposted by Heather Douglas
Because the below skeet went viral here, and people are arguing over it, I'm going to share some more info about it from a thread I did at the other place. I really need to just do an article about it but haven't done that yet. Until then, I hope readers find this thread useful. 🧵
Denver gave people experiencing homelessness $1k/month. A year later, nearly half had housing.
They also had fewer ER visits, nights spent in a hospital, and jail stays.
The report estimates that this reduction in public service use SAVED the city $589k.
www.businessinsider.com/denver-basic...
They also had fewer ER visits, nights spent in a hospital, and jail stays.
The report estimates that this reduction in public service use SAVED the city $589k.
www.businessinsider.com/denver-basic...
Denver gave people experiencing homelessness $1,000 a month. A year later, nearly half of participants said they had housing.
Participants in Denver's basic-income program reported having more-secure housing, though results were similar in the trial and control groups.
www.businessinsider.com
November 26, 2024 at 3:18 PM
Because the below skeet went viral here, and people are arguing over it, I'm going to share some more info about it from a thread I did at the other place. I really need to just do an article about it but haven't done that yet. Until then, I hope readers find this thread useful. 🧵
Reposted by Heather Douglas
Breaking:
Cassava Sciences Topline Phase 3 Data Did Not Meet Co-Primary Endpoints
$SAVA CEO: "(T)he loss of cognition in the placebo group was less pronounced than ... in other placebo-controlled studies in AD. We are working to understand this better".
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
Cassava Sciences Topline Phase 3 Data Did Not Meet Co-Primary Endpoints
$SAVA CEO: "(T)he loss of cognition in the placebo group was less pronounced than ... in other placebo-controlled studies in AD. We are working to understand this better".
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
Cassava Sciences Topline Phase 3 Data Did Not Meet Co-Primary Endpoints
Simufilam did not show a significant reduction in cognitive or functional decline versus placebo in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease in...
www.globenewswire.com
November 25, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Breaking:
Cassava Sciences Topline Phase 3 Data Did Not Meet Co-Primary Endpoints
$SAVA CEO: "(T)he loss of cognition in the placebo group was less pronounced than ... in other placebo-controlled studies in AD. We are working to understand this better".
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
Cassava Sciences Topline Phase 3 Data Did Not Meet Co-Primary Endpoints
$SAVA CEO: "(T)he loss of cognition in the placebo group was less pronounced than ... in other placebo-controlled studies in AD. We are working to understand this better".
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
A piece of good news for the day-- a win for energy and climate justice and climate mitigation! #energy #climate energynews.us/2024/11/25/m...
Minnesota tribe’s solar-powered resilience hub would provide cost savings, backup power to local community | Energy News Network
A pair of developers are working to build a microgrid at an elementary school and community center on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.
energynews.us
November 25, 2024 at 5:33 PM
A piece of good news for the day-- a win for energy and climate justice and climate mitigation! #energy #climate energynews.us/2024/11/25/m...
Great talk at COP by Al Gore and great new tool for tracking emissions globally. As he said, despite setbacks, we can do this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w2d... #climatesky
Al Gore and Gavin McCormick unveil unprecedented Climate TRACE emissions data at COP29
YouTube video by Climate TRACE
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2024 at 3:56 PM
Great talk at COP by Al Gore and great new tool for tracking emissions globally. As he said, despite setbacks, we can do this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w2d... #climatesky
Reposted by Heather Douglas
If you use Microsoft Word to write work that is creative, proprietary, or really, any writing at all, some versions of Microsoft Office will now use your writing to train its gen AI algorithm. You have to opt-out. medium.com/illumination...
MS Word is Using You to Train AI
How to turn off AI-scraping from your Word documents
medium.com
November 25, 2024 at 12:38 AM
If you use Microsoft Word to write work that is creative, proprietary, or really, any writing at all, some versions of Microsoft Office will now use your writing to train its gen AI algorithm. You have to opt-out. medium.com/illumination...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
AI-based social services in the US are largely hidden, unchallenged, unregulated, and decentralized, and yet affect 27% of the most marginalized among us. I think often about Virginia Eubanks' important point, that marginalized communities often deal with risky and discriminatory technologies first.
Our Inescapable AI report (www.techtonicjustice.org/reports/ines...) comprehensively explains + quantifies AI use in the lives of the 92 million low-income people in the U.S. Essentially all face AI use in at least one key life aspect: housing, work, schooling, public benefits, or family stability.
November 24, 2024 at 6:23 PM
AI-based social services in the US are largely hidden, unchallenged, unregulated, and decentralized, and yet affect 27% of the most marginalized among us. I think often about Virginia Eubanks' important point, that marginalized communities often deal with risky and discriminatory technologies first.
Why would people buy a natural gas generator when home batteries cost the same to install (about $15k), have no need to upgrade gas metering, operate seemlessly, and can be recharged with solar panels? Both systems require some selection of critical circuits. #climate www.wxyz.com/news/local-n...
'A flat-out money grab.' DTE customer outraged over cost of new gas meter for generator
Fed up with power outages, one local man says he decided to invest in a generator for his house, only to face sticker shock from the power company.
www.wxyz.com
November 24, 2024 at 4:41 PM
Why would people buy a natural gas generator when home batteries cost the same to install (about $15k), have no need to upgrade gas metering, operate seemlessly, and can be recharged with solar panels? Both systems require some selection of critical circuits. #climate www.wxyz.com/news/local-n...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
New paper on #trustinscience, specifically trust in expertise. Hanna Metzen argues that "the proper attitude is vigilant trust in expertise".
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Vigilant trust in scientific expertise - European Journal for Philosophy of Science
This paper investigates the value of trust and the proper attitude lay people ought to have towards scientific experts. Trust in expertise is usually considered to be valuable, while distrust is often...
link.springer.com
November 23, 2024 at 11:00 PM
New paper on #trustinscience, specifically trust in expertise. Hanna Metzen argues that "the proper attitude is vigilant trust in expertise".
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Heather Douglas
🧪 Less than a month after four towering dams on the Klamath River were demolished, hundreds of salmon made it into waters they have been cut off from for decades to spawn in cool creeks
Salmon return to lay eggs in historic habitat after largest dam removal project in US history
Less than a month after four towering dams on the Klamath River were demolished, hundreds of salmon made it into waters they have been cut off from for decades to spawn in cool creeks.
buff.ly
November 23, 2024 at 4:53 PM
🧪 Less than a month after four towering dams on the Klamath River were demolished, hundreds of salmon made it into waters they have been cut off from for decades to spawn in cool creeks
My essay from the MIT 2018 Frankenstein volume, about the Manhattan project and the downside of technical success! Lovely to see in this format. thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-bitter-a...
The Bitter Aftertaste of “Technical Sweetness”
Echoing Frankenstein’s story, the creation of the atomic bomb illustrates how scientific zeal can blind researchers to foreseeable dangers.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
November 22, 2024 at 11:11 PM
My essay from the MIT 2018 Frankenstein volume, about the Manhattan project and the downside of technical success! Lovely to see in this format. thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-bitter-a...