Epidemiologists routinely turn to models to predict the progression of an infectious disease. Fighting public suspicion of these models is as old as modern epidemiology, which traces its origins back to John Snow’s famous cholera maps in 1854. ~Zeynep Tufekci Just when I think I have a satisfactory vocabulary, a new word inserts itself. Epidemiologists […]
Cholera and Typhoid – 19th Century Killers Read More »
Salad can get a bad rap. People think of bland and watery iceberg lettuce, but in fact, salads are an art form, from the simplest rendition to a colorful kitchen-sink approach. ~Marcus Samuelsson He’s not wrong. Sometimes we make judgment calls before we’ve considered all the options. I wouldn’t say that an aversion to salad
Lettuce Consider Greens Read More »
Observed from behind, however, you completely lose sight of the whiskers, and so fail to realize how immensely important they are. ~ Norman Lindsay As with many topics I research, I don’t know what prompted my interest cats’ facial hair. The only thing I knew about cats’ whiskers–or thought I knew–was that cats use their
Cats’ Whiskers & Bees’ Knees Read More »
The world is supposed to be full of possibilities, but they narrow down to pretty few in most personal experience. There’s lots of good fish in the sea . . . maybe . . . but the vast masses seem to be mackerel or herring, and if you’re not mackerel or herring yourself, you are
Idioms–They’re a Dime a Dozen Read More »
Grammar is a piano I play by ear. ~ Joan Didion, Joan Didion: Essays & Conversations Well, not exactly, but I come closer to playing that instrument naturally than any other. For some people, rules are constraints and are therefore to be cast aside like a flip-flop with a broken strap. Not me. Rules are guardrails that
Grammar Rules–How To Undo Read More »