Being outdoors doesn’t mean you're safe from COVID-19 – a White House event showed what not to do
The wind will disperse some virus-carrying respiratory droplets, but not everything. Masks can make the difference.
Oct. 8, 2020 • ~7 min
health covid-19 coronavirus risk pandemic donald-trump contagion aerosols white-house chris-christie infectious-dose trump-covid
To be a great innovator, learn to embrace and thrive in uncertainty
Many great innovators have personality traits in common. Comfort with uncertainty is critical, but passion, curiosity and a number of other learnable skills can prime you for an innovate idea.
Sept. 15, 2020 • ~8 min
innovation business risk uncertainty invention entrepreneurship disney innovation-and-invention discovery success disruption process-of-innovation
Coping with Western wildfires: 5 essential reads
How climate change and other human actions have combined to create conditions for explosive wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington state.
Sept. 10, 2020 • ~6 min
public-health climate-change risk california-wildfires insurance california wildfires oregon land-use wood-smoke essential-reads washington-state
Coronavirus is hundreds of times more deadly for people over 60 than people under 40
Using random testing, researchers in Indiana were able to calculate death rates by age, race, and sex and found sharp increases in risk of death among older and non-white state residents.
Sept. 10, 2020 • ~7 min
heart-disease health diabetes covid-19 coronavirus risk sars-cov-2 viruses indiana health-risks death-rate risk-of-death
Challenge trials for a coronavirus vaccine are unethical – except for in one unlikely scenario
Challenge trials – purposefully exposing volunteers to the coronavirus – could speed up the development of a vaccine. But there are serious ethical concerns with this approach.
Aug. 24, 2020 • ~8 min
covid-19 coronavirus ethics risk pandemic philosophy vaccines sars-cov-2 viruses lockdown bioethics essential-workers
Mandatory face masks might lull people into taking more coronavirus risks
Policies meant to improve public health – like mandatory face masks during the coronavirus pandemic – need to take into account how people might adjust other behaviors in response.
July 20, 2020 • ~6 min
covid-19 coronavirus risk risk-taking behavioral-economics face-masks masks health-behaviors behavior mask-wearing
Teens are wired to resent being stuck with parents and cut off from friends during coronavirus lockdown
Together the social and emotional 'jobs' of adolescence – developing intimate friendships and achieving autonomy – make teens uniquely resistant to calls for social distancing.
April 22, 2020 • ~7 min
teenagers risk psychology social-distancing risk-taking developmental-psychology adolescents friendship adolescence teens cognitive-skills emotional-skills friends
Americans disagree on how risky the coronavirus is, but most are changing their behavior anyway
Using a survey taken from March 10 – March 16, social scientists tried to untangle the complicated connection between feelings of vulnerability and behavior change in response to the coronavirus.
March 26, 2020 • ~7 min
covid-19 coronavirus risk social-psychology communication altruism surveys human-behavior
Coronavirus: who is at risk and how do we know?
The risks to individuals vary hugely with age.
March 12, 2020 • ~8 min
epidemiology covid-19 coronavirus risk pandemic disease-risk
When safety measures lead to riskier behavior by more people
Behavioral economists explain how widespread use of face masks, hand sanitizer and other preventive measures could counterintuitively encourage riskier behaviors around coronavirus.
March 11, 2020 • ~6 min
covid-19 coronavirus risk sars-cov-2 behavioral-science safety risk-taking behavioral-economics trade-offs
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