Monday, February 2nd, 2015
A Long Strange Trip
"Mind-blowing." That might be a description you've heard in relation to psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin. But in this case, the mind being blown belongs to one of the several researchers who have seen remarkable psychiatric benefits from a single dose of psychedelics. The notion of LSD as medicine was given considerable thought in the 1960s, before the drug went counter-culture and the research largely stopped. Today, the research is back, and the early outcomes have impressed scientists examining the impact of psychedelics on anxiety, depression and other symptoms: "The fact that a drug given once can have such an effect for so long is an unprecedented finding. We have never had anything like it in the psychiatric field." If future tests go as well, we may be hearing a lot more from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (and this time, she'll have a prescription). From The New Yorker's Michael Pollan: The Trip Treatment.
Yelling Fire Outside a Theater
"Normally, when you go to war, you go into a theater. You sleep in a tent every night and you walk half a mile to go to the bathroom. In the Predator world, you're in Las Vegas. You get up in the morning, kiss the wife goodbye and drive up to the base. But when you get into the box, you're right there in the theater. You're at war. It's incredibly strange." From The Kernal: The loneliness of the long-distance drone pilot.
+ The Atlantic: Drones are now appearing on Afghan rugs.
Parental Misguidance Suggested
NJ Governor and presidential hopeful Chris Christie is making headlines today for his suggestion that parents should have "some measure of choice" when it comes to deciding whether or not to vaccinate their kids. (The only choice they should have is whether the kid gets it in the arm or the leg.) But don't think Christie is merely pandering to the anti-vax quacks. According to Pew, young adults are more likely to say vaccinating kids should be a parental choice.
The Offensive Play
WaPo's Mark Maske sums up the Seattle Seahawks' final offensive play of the season as "the worst play-call in Super Bowl history." And after a morning spent listening to sportstalk radio, I can report that his description is comparatively mild and understated.
+ One play can totally change the legacies of players and teams. The NYT takes a closer look at yesterday's interception that did just that for the Patriots and the Seahawks. And from Deadspin: The Patriots knew exactly what was coming.
+ Even with all the negative press this season, the Super Bowl still earned its best overnight ratings ever.
+ What's your major? For most of the players on the field on Sunday, the answer to that question is: General Studies.
+ The Super Bowl was exciting, but the season was a long one for the NFL and its commissioner. GQ's Gabriel Sherman looks back at the season from Hell: Inside Roger Goodell's Ruthless Football Machine.
Nationwide’s Accident
The biggest upset from this year's Super Bowl was that the game beat the commercials. After a season defined by concussion reports and elevator violence, advertisers played it decidedly safe. AdAge has a look at all the ads, from best to worst. Several of them were pretty depressing, including Nationwide's already infamous commercial in which a young boy explains, "I'll never learn to ride a bike. Or to get cooties ... I couldn't grow up, because I died from an accident." On the plus side, if Accident Boy is from Seattle, at least he'll never have to experience that last play call.
+ Aside from the Patriots, the evening's big winner may have been Left Shark.
A Text for Help
"The average adolescent sends almost two thousand text messages a month. They contact their friends more by text than by phone or e-mail or instant-message or even face-to-face conversations." That's why Nancy Lublin and her excellent team at DoSomething decided to set up a crisis text line for teens. And then the texts started pouring in.
Unleash The Power Within
"In Beijing, 6,800 tons of human excrement are treated each day by some estimates: enough to fill almost three Olympic-size swimming pools." That might sound gross, but as Bloomberg reports, it represents the future of turning waste into energy: China is Turning Fecal Sludge Into Black Gold. (This is just one of the reasons why I'm putting all my money into Metamucil futures.)
The Tipping Point
You buy a cup of coffee. You swipe your card on the reader attached to an iPad. Then you're given several tip options. If you've had this experience, then you've experienced what could become a revolution in higher tips. You've also experienced an example of how willing you are to pay more when you're presented with a good user-interface and a seamless payment process. From Hilary Stout: Gratuities Grow, Automatically.
+ The Atlantic: The psychological difference between $12.00 and $11.67.
Shadow Chancing
Today is Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil just saw his own shadow, meaning we're in for six more weeks of Winter.
+ It always seems to be Groundhog Day in Woodstock, Ill, where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed.
The Bottom of the News
If you're still feeling a little bloated from Super Bowl Sunday, then you'll relate to Ruth Baron's experiment in personal growth: Over the course of a single week, she ate all 62 of the fast-food meals advertised during the playoffs.
+ Rich people are not happier than everyone else. They're just less sad. (The income gap will grow a little wider while you're busy trying to figure out that math.)
+ MoJo: San Franciso's conference where guys in suits pitch marijuana start-ups to other guys in suits.