An availability cascade is a self-sustaining chain of events, which may start from media reports of a relatively minor event and lead up to public panic and large-scale government action. On some occasions, a media story about a risk catches the attention of a segment of the public, which becomes aroused and worried. This emotional reaction becomes a story in itself, prompting additional coverage in the media, which in turn produces greater concern and involvement. The cycle is sometimes sped along deliberately by “availability entrepreneurs,” individuals or organizations who work to ensure a continuous flow of worrying news. The danger is increasingly exaggerated as the media compete for attention-grabbing headlines. Scientists and others who try to dampen the increasing fear and revulsion attract little attention, most of it hostile: anyone who claims that the danger is overstated is suspected of association with a “heinous cover-up.” The issue becomes politically important because it is on everyone’s mind, and the response of of the political system is guided by the intensity of public sentiment. The availability cascade has now reset priorities. Other risks, and other ways that resources could be applied for the public good, all have faded into the background.
Book · Climatechange · Consciousness · English · Globalwarming · Science
294 words
2 minutes
Climate variability in Northern Europe
A report from the World Bank is making rounds in media today. While portraying catastrophic scenarios, it contains no new actual research and is simply extrapolating statistical possibilities. Unfortunately the media headlines aren’t really reflecting the content - not unusual regardless of the topic.
Climatechange · Globalwarming · Scandinavia · Science
508 words
3 minutes
Seasonal Affective Disorder - SAD. wikipedia also known as winter depression, winter blues […] or seasonal depression, was considered a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter […]
English · SAD · Science · SSRI · Transhumanism
441 words
3 minutes
Here is the text broken up into paragraphs: In our daily exposure to science, we’ve been told that there exists a quality metric that allows us to distinguish between "bad science" and "good science". Peer review; the concept of scientific works being sent to certain publications, where editors then asks other scientists in (hopefully) related fields for their opinions, and if the paper "passes" it will be published. Some publications are taken to be "better" than others at this, and there’s a sense of pride and justification between scientists depending on how many papers, and where, they’ve managed to get published through the peer review process.
Climatechange · English · Globalwarming · Media · Science
330 words
2 minutes
Singularity Summit 2009 - report
(In Swedish at least for the time being. To view the tweets in English I wrote during the conference, use this search )
Consciousness · Culture · Science · Simulation · Swedish · Transhumanism · Virtualreality
60 words
1 minute