quirky

> People don't change their opinions when supplied with a potent argument. They change their minds when their friends change their minds. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) April 22, 2022 [https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1517486506079838208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] At time of blogging, 236 of the twitterati pitched in with a

What determines any particular species of animal's lifespan? From a team of Cambridge scientists, we learn the previous theory - body size as proportional to life expectancy, known as Peto's Paradox - must now evolve. The new hypothesis being that; > "lifespan is inversely proportional to the somatic mutation rate". In

vranyo :: the Russian tactic of saying outrageous things and expecting to get away with them. Here's another definition, via glossophilia [https://glossophilia.org/2018/09/vranyo-a-previously-untranslatable-russian-word/] ; > “You know I’m lying, and I know that you know, and you know that I know that you know, but I go ahead

The UK public sector somehow presided over a shocking IT procurement. The postal service bought a new accounting system. For the independent 'moms 'n pops' shopkeepers who ran small sub-post offices. The result? “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history". After a string of wrongful convictions, livelihoods

British university biologists coined a great term during their study of what happened to wildlife when humans en masse went into lockdown; the anthropause. Now no longer shielding from that coronavirus, they suggest we now enter a frenzied phase of catching up activity; the anthropulse. I couldn't help but think

If someone calls you a Renaissance Man or Woman, then they imply you're a person with expertise in more than one area. I've seen this concept also apply the label, 'Ultimate'. There's an old joke I've heard too. Unsurprisingly from female comics. 'Never trust a man who tells you he's

Are we witnessing the end of tank warfare? The dogged Ukrainians are stopping the Russian invaders in their tracks. Literally. Tanks stranded. Their movement stalled. Many destroyed as sitting ducks. Much comment from those in the know wonder whether this is the moment signifying we are passed Peak Tank. In

A few posts ago I enjoyed using the word 'impede'. Since then, I read opinion pieces aplenty about the ramifications of Putin's abhorrent, unjust war of choice invading Ukraine on the world's consequent energy price hikes. The gist of many is that those of us who are not predisposed towards

> NEW from @CBSDavidMartin [https://twitter.com/CBSDavidMartin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]: A U.S. official estimates Russians have lost 5,000-6,000 killed in the first 2 weeks of battle. Standard battlefield math assumes 3x as many wounded as killed, so that puts the number of wounded at 15,000-18,

Working closely with a tech entrepreneur whose business now flourishes into its second decade, I was so glad to learn another remedy of the word 'problem', ahem, problem. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard - both in training and the field - an exchange along these