Links - 15th May 2020 (2)

Al Shabaab shoot locusts with machine guns as Somalia battles biggest swarms in 25 years - "Farmers in southern Somalia are shooting at huge swarms of locusts with heavy machine guns in a desperate attempt to save their crops, according to media affiliated to the jihadist group Al-Shabaab. According to the group’s media, insects that have infested farmland around the southwestern town of Tiyeglow, an Al-Shabaab stronghold, are being shot at with a PKM rifle — a machine gun version of the Russian Kalashnikov.The news comes as the country experiences its largest locust infestation for 25 years. Since July, swarms of Desert Locusts from nearby Yemen have invaded vast swathes of the Horn of Africa."

Hawthorne effect - Wikipedia - "The Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) is a type of reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. This can undermine the integrity of research, particularly the relationships between variables. The original research at the Hawthorne Works for telephone equipment in Cicero, Illinois, on lighting changes and work structure changes such as working hours and break times was originally interpreted by Elton Mayo and others to mean that paying attention to overall worker needs would improve productivity.Later interpretations such as that done by Landsberger suggested that the novelty of being research subjects and the increased attention from such could lead to temporary increases in workers' productivity. This interpretation was dubbed "the Hawthorne effect". It is also similar to a phenomenon that is referred to as novelty/disruption effect"

Quantum Chimpanzees: Do Watched Primates Change Their Behavior? - "when monkeys were accompanied by humans, they were more likely to forage at the ground level where they were at the greatest risk of predation. These results strongly suggested that the monkeys understood that researcher presence protected them from ground predators.In a similar way, data from chimpanzees indicates that habituation impacts their hunting behavior."

Dog-directed speech: why do we use it and do dogs pay attention to it? - "Pet-directed speech is strikingly similar to infant-directed speech, a peculiar speaking pattern with higher pitch and slower tempo known to engage infants' attention and promote language learning... in the absence of other non-auditory cues, puppies were highly reactive to dog-directed speech, and that the pitch was a key factor modulating their behaviour, suggesting that this specific speech register has a functional value in young dogs. Conversely, older dogs did not react differentially to dog-directed speech compared with normal speech"

Tolerance Is the Attitude of Those Who Do Not Believe in Anything – Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton - "Lasch was using the word “tolerance” for what Chesterton generally termed “impartiality.” Chesterton deplored impartiality, which he equated with indifference, but he generally applauded tolerance, which he contrasted with bigotry — unless the tolerance in question was really a mere mask for indifference"
Also quoted as "tolerance is the virtue of the man without conviction" and "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions"

Turkey Has Legitimate Grievances Against the U.S. - " the causes of Ankara’s recent willingness to defy Washington go beyond one man’s personality. Polls reliably indicate that 70% to 80% of Turks regard the U.S. as a hostile power. While anti-Americanism is an old story in Turkey, in recent years it has a sharper edge. Turks increasingly see America as a threat.This is a remarkable development in a country that had been a stalwart U.S. ally and partner for decades. The levels of hostility to America cannot be laid on Mr. Erdogan’s doorstep, for he commands the support of only around 40% of Turks. Dissatisfaction with the U.S. stretches far beyond the president’s AK Party...
First, America’s diffident Syria policy. Ankara followed Washington’s lead in backing the Syrian people’s attempt to overthrow the dictator Bashar Assad. But when Turkey shot down a Russian combat jet violating its airspace in 2015, President Obama treated the episode more as a bilateral spat between third parties than as a conflict between America’s key regional ally and a more powerful adversary of U.S. interests. Left on its own, Ankara realized it had little choice but to accommodate Moscow. Vladimir Putin’s steadfastness trumped Mr. Obama’s aloofness. Thus was born the relationship that begot the S-400 deal. Second is the curious sympathy that America extends to Fethullah Gülen, a guru-like religious figure who has been residing in Pennsylvania since 1999... Figures close to Mr. Gülen have been accused of playing key roles in the July 2016 coup attempt that took the lives of 251 Turks. Though Mr. Gülen condemned the coup and denied any involvement, former followers of his say that his organization is tightly centralized. U.S. experts on Turkey—such as James Jeffrey, a former ambassador to Ankara—say that Mr. Gülen’s followers have pursued power in Turkey by infiltrating government bodies. Many Turks doubt Mr. Gülen’s supporters could participate in a coup without his blessing. Before taking up his current position as the State Department’s point man on Syria, Mr. Jeffrey stated that it is “embarrassing” that Mr. Gülen “is sitting here in the United States.” How, many Turks ask, can the U.S. harbor such a despicable figure? The third misdeed is the most consequential: the Obama administration’s decision in 2016 to arm and train YPG members and directly embed American special forces with them. Rather than work with Turkey, the U.S. chose to support the Syrian wing of the PKK, which the Turkish public holds responsible for decades of warfare and tens of thousands of deaths. The PKK represents a grave threat to the Turkish Republic, and Turks across the political spectrum loathe it. To dismiss Ankara’s objections to America’s arming of the YPG as mere anti-Kurdish bigotry is ignorant, akin to labeling the fight against al Qaeda as Islamophobia."
Japanese cuisine: As fresh as it gets - "Chef Shiraishi will hold a demonstration on one of the simplest, yet sometimes misunderstood, aspect of Japanese food: The art of “freshness”.Eating fresh food is a national obsession with the Japanese. But freshness, he explained, begins with using seasonal ingredients. Even sake is brewed seasonally. “That is our lifestyle; we appreciate seasonal produce and their natural origins,” he said... “Our concept focuses on picking up the (natural) taste of the ingredients, which is why we do not use a lot of (heavy) sauces. We never used to add heavy tasting ingredients or flavouring like butter and milk.”...
Q: Many see fresh seafood as simply fish pulled out of a tank, slaughtered and served raw.
A: Yes, that is also fresh.
Q: But top sushi restaurants also age a lot of their fish, for better flavour and texture.
A: That’s a new way. Some people are into ageing tuna. Cultures change, as might consumers’ taste...
Q: And what about beef?
A: Beef needs ageing, which makes it more tender and flavourful. Fresh meat just tastes like blood."
The prizing of freshness, seasonality and locality explain why it has penetrated haute cuisine in The West more than cuisines from other parts of Asia

Quit my job to trade for a living, ended up losing everything... wasted 4 years of my life. : wallstreetbets - "I have always worked a low paid job earning only about the equivalent of $25k a year. I found out about trading CFDs 4 years ago and thought great this looks easy. In my first year I blew an account worth $10k. Next few years I lost $25k. Last year I tried trading US stocks and indices and lost about $20k.I then discovered the holy grail, the slow stochastic indicator and the relative vigor index. I used these tool to claw back the money I lost and made $15k profit. I got excited and quit my job.Then I found out that these indicators dont work when markets are trending or parabolic. So i lost $45K in 3 months.Ive maxed out my credit card, I have a personal loan to pay off and no job. Oh btw I also got scammed $10k by a phony lawyer in 2014. I never went to College, I am a unskilled worker. I wasted 4 years of my life, ive never had a girlfriend, I live with my parents and have no car. Im 26 years old with no friends or social life.My father was poor, his father was poor, i will also be poor."
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

Conservatives and liberals have similar physiological responses to threats - "About a decade ago, a study documented that conservatives have stronger physiological responses to threatening stimuli than liberals. This work launched an approach aimed at uncovering the biological roots of ideology. Despite wide-ranging scientific and popular impact, independent laboratories have not replicated the study. We conducted a pre-registered direct replication (n = 202) and conceptual replications in the United States (n = 352) and the Netherlands (n = 81). Our analyses do not support the conclusions of the original study, nor do we find evidence for broader claims regarding the effect of disgust and the existence of a physiological trait. Rather than studying unconscious responses as the real predispositions, alignment between conscious and unconscious responses promises deeper insights into the emotional roots of ideology."

Out-of-business Tokyo McDonald’s gets brutal but kind sendoff from rival Burger King branch - "Akihabara competitor’s goodbye is as sweet and salty as French fries dipped in chocolate sauce... the McDonald’s Showadori branch in Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood permanently closed down, and it broke the news to passersby by putting up a sign that read:
“Thank you for your 22 years of patronage. The Akihabara Showadori branch McDonald’s will be permanently closing at 6 p.m. on January 31. Thank you for the past 22 years. We deeply appreciate the customers who supported this branch, and hope you will continue to dine at other McDonald’s locations.”...
Burger King’s message reads:
Thank you for 22 happy years.
Our neighbor two buildings over, McDonald’s, will be closing today.
Esteemed rival, and fellow friend who loved Akihabara,
because you were close by, we also could do our best.
Without you here, McDonald’s, thinking of the future fills us with sadness.
Selfish though it is for us to say this, everyone, please go to McDonald’s today.
Challenging ourselves to be as good as McDonald’s has been our goal, so with a smile, we say thank you...
if you take another look at Burger King’s poster, there’s what seems to be a hidden message... “Victory is ours.”... the Burger King poster’s offer to give anyone with a McDonald’s Akihabara Showadori customer receipt a free cup of coffee between not and February 6 seems to be OK to take at face value"

Free University Tuition: A Cautionary Note from Germany - "most German universities look dingy and threadbare... Most classrooms still feature rigid wooden or metal desks bolted into rows. Wireless coverage, library stocks, laboratory gear and classroom A/V equipment lag far behind the average American state university. It’s still possible to arrive to give a lecture and find an overhead projector awaiting your transparencies. Professors’ salaries are much lower than in the United States... This bare-bones regime also dominates student life and counseling. German universities are sink-or-swim: if you have scholarly or personal problems while studying, help will come only from overburdened counselors with hundreds of cases, or from student volunteers. Along with lax admissions standards, this fact helps explain the high dropout rates; one-third of all students who enroll in German universities never finish. A recent OECD study found that only 28.6 percent of Germans aged between 25 and 64 had a tertiary education degree, as compared to 46.4 percent of Americans... German universities punch below their weight in international rankings... Eliminating tuition also means that universities become more like primary schools, or public utilities. This changes the dynamic in subtle ways. Universities will become more vulnerable to funding decisions by agencies, leading to more intrusive control and bureaucracy. Gather any group of German professors, and talk will immediately turn to the burgeoning bureaucracy which distracts them from teaching and research. This changed dynamic also makes it harder to get funding from alumni and third parties. Would you donate to the local sewage treatment plant? Hardly; these things should be funded from tax revenue and, of course, user fees. Making universities fully state-supported also raises a host of issues under competition and public-utilities law. For this reason (among others) naming buildings or professorships after private donors is still fairly uncommon at German public universities, and “executive education” or outreach courses may be banned or regulated to prevent unfair competition with private-sector offerings. Tuition fees also serve as a buffer to interference from politicians who disapprove of controversial course offerings; after all, if students (or parents) choose to pay thousands of dollars to have their children indoctrinated with “left-wing propaganda,” that’s their business. When the state foots the entire bill, however, politicians will have that much more incentive to demand oversight and explanations... Tuition-free universities also have problems with student motivation. Most Americans who teach ordinary classes in Germany find average German students somewhat less motivated than their dues-paying American counterparts... In all my years teaching thousands of students, only about 40, in total, ever voluntarily came by to ask about the course material... Supporters of the tuition-free model claim it fosters social mobility. Yet the proportion of German university students whose parents were “well” or “very well” educated rose from 36 percent in 1991 to 52 percent in 2016, raising the question of whether free university study—especially in financially rewarding areas such as finance, law, or medicine—is often just a gift from taxpayers to the (grateful) middle class. A recent study found that parental wealth still plays a crucial role in social mobility in Germany—and the effect was even stronger there than in the USA... An ambitious student will find a way to cope with modest tuition."