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Will COVID-19 Make Us Less Democratic and More like China?

In a recent column, I speculated that the coronavirus pandemic will make us more socialist, by which I mean simply that governments take more from the rich and give more to poor. I specified that this shift would be consistent with democracy. Now, following my pattern of veering between Pollyannaism and dread, I’ll consider whether the pandemic will make […]

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COVID-19 and the Harsh Reality of Empathy Distribution

This essay first appeared on The MIT Reader on April 20, 2020 Across the world, many of us are imagining a possible rendezvous with Death. Some are turning to common addictions, such as alcohol and drugs. A study last week found that nearly 40 percent of remote-working New Yorkers are drinking while working, and one […]

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Revised Covid-19 model reveals grim news

A key Coronavirus model often cited by President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, now says that deaths from Covid-19 will rise. Built by the Institute for … source

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Scientists Waited Two and a Half Years to See Whether Bacteria Can Eat Rock

For a substance known for its abundance, persistence, and rock-bottom prices, there is an enduring mystery to dirt: where does it come from? Generally speaking, it sits at the nexus of geology, meteorology, and time. Rock becomes dirt via weathering. But it is a process that is necessarily difficult for humans to observe. It’s long been assumed that […]