Cognitive Biases that Affect Decisions

Posted on 2015-09-17 by arjaybe

20-cognitive-biases-that-screw-up-your-decisions

In my ongoing effort to remind myself of the ways I can get it wrong, I post this link to a useful infographic. I believe that one of our most important missions in life is to see past our biases and misconceptions, and the best way is to know what to look for. I’ve made similar posts before, including two on the kind of thinking that goes into conspiracy theories — number one and number two (with infographic) — and one on what goes into bad science (with infographic.) Tap the picture for the full-sized original, or use the link below to go to the original article.

You make thousands of rational decisions every day — or so you think. From what you’ll eat throughout the day to whether you should make a big career move, research suggests that there are a number of cognitive stumbling blocks that affect your behavior, and they can prevent you from acting in your own best interests. Here, we’ve rounded up the most common biases that screw up our decision-making.

Source: Cognitive biases that affect decisions – Business Insider

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Glory – An Optical Meteorological Phenomenon

Posted on 2015-09-11 by arjaybe
All photos Brocken Inaglory CC-BY-SA, except as noted

All photos Brocken Inaglory CC-BY-SA, except as noted

Cloud of the Day – Glory

Glory is an optical phenomenon which has become much more commonly observed since the rise of widespread flight.

Fogbow_glory_spectre_bridge_Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Glory is seen in clouds or mist when the Sun (or rarely the Moon) is directly behind the observer.

AndiW - Public Domain

AndiW – Public Domain

The observer must be higher than the clouds or mist because, since the Sun (or Moon) is above the horizon, the glory must be below the opposite horizon.

Glory_spectre_fogbow-Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Glory is most commonly observed from a high vantage point, like a mountain, a bridge, a tall building or an aircraft.

Brocken Inaglory - Public Domain

Brocken Inaglory – Public Domain

In some cases the glory will surround the shadow of the aircraft.

Reeftraveler - CC-BY-SA

Reeftraveler – CC-BY-SA

When the glory surrounds the dramatically large shadow of the observer, when standing on a mountain top, say, it is called a Brocken spectre, named for a German mountain renowned for the effect.

Spectre_of_the_Brocken_Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

No one has yet devised a generally accepted theory for the formation of glories. The rings are all centered on the observer’s eyes, so they’re obviously dependent on the observer’s position. And they’re obviously optical, resulting from one or more of the reflection, refraction, interference, and tunneling of light. It’s not nailed down yet, though.

Solar_Glory_with_helicopter_shadow_around_Mauna_Loa-Brocken-Inaglory-CC-BY-SA

Tap the photos for large originals.

rjb

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What is Open Source Pharma

Posted on 2015-09-06 by arjaybe

American_journal_of_pharmacy_(1899)

May 04, 2020. During the COVID 19 pandemic the case for open source pharmaceuticals has become even more urgent. Today I read a post that was published April 30th on Fast Company, titled How Open-Source Medicine Could Prepare Us for the Next Pandemic. It’s a long read full of good information, and a way to expand on what’s in the five year old post below. – rjb

I found this blog post on ConsortiumInfo.org, a website owned by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, “. . . a technology law firm internationally known for forming and representing more of the consortia that create and promote standards than any other law firm in the U.S.” Okay, that’s pretty arcane, isn’t it? Put simply, they help people form consortia. If some companies want to get together to develop a set of standards to follow, or if some developers want to form an open source organization, GU can help them. Andrew Updegrove wrote this blog post while on a flight returning from a meeting about forming a consortium for open source pharmaceuticals. It’s a long post, but it’s good. In it, Andrew talks about how closed source pharma works, why it doesn’t work for everyone, and how open source pharma might fill that gap.

Andrew Updegrove also writes a blog about self-publishing, if you’re interested, but below you will find the blog on Open Source Pharma.

What’s a neglected disease? It’s one that as much as half the world’s population is at risk of dying from, but which nevertheless doesn’t present an attractive profit target for any of the major pharmaceutical companies. Why? Because once again, those at risk can’t pay as much as patients in the developed world, and those in the developed world rarely get the disease. Diseases like malaria and drug resistant tuberculosis, which together claim millions of lives a year in developing countries. Open Source Pharma holds the promise of addressing these appalling realities, and it’s therefore imperative that it take hold in the marketplace.

What is Open Source Pharma (and why should you care)?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment