random
New blog - Kaleidoscope Mind
I've started a new blog on Substack, Kaleidoscope Mind, for writing about whatever topics I'm interested in. The website you're reading now hosts an archive of a few things I've written previously, but newer content will be published over there.
Read52 things I learned in 2022
1. In the 1980s, 75% of airline accidents happened while the captain (the more senior of the two pilots) was flying the plane. An investigation found this happened because (junior) first officers didn't feel comfortable pointing out concerns when a superior was in charge; after airlines adopted a protocol with explicit steps on how to raise and confirm acknowledgement of an issue, captains' share of accidents fell back to 50%. [...]
Read52 things I learned in 2021
1. The number of licensed geriatrics doctors in the US fell by 25% from 1996-2010, even as the population aged. Generalists can provide elder care, of course, but at last one RCT showed that patients that see a geriatric specialist have better outcomes than those seeing a generalist. [...]
Read52 things I learned in 2020
1. Commercial and consumer toilet paper have different specifications and separate supply chains, which led to the early-pandemic shortages. The same is true of a wide range of perhaps surprising products, such as bananas: restaurants and cafeterias order smaller, loose bananas, whereas supermarkets order larger bananas in bunches. [...]
Read52 things I learned in 2019
1. Until 2011(!), vehicles were only required to use average male-proportioned crash test dummies; when female-like dummies were added, many cars' safety ratings fell. [...]
Read