Climbing Blind

Meritocracy is a beautiful idea, but we have to own up to the reality of the situation. People who are cash poor, can't take equity over eating this week. People who give birth (half of the world is capable of this, you know), shouldn't have to opt out of caring for themselves and their offspring in order to climb the professional ladder - though they increasingly do - Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's recent announcement that she would all but forego taking maternity leave while carrying twins presents itself as the latest symptom of this backwards culture's ailments. And yet we wonder, why are our boardrooms filled with white men? Same goes for tech start-ups...where is the diversity!? Come on now, are we really surprised?

Re: "Inclusion in Tech Entrepreneurship: Meritocracy or Myth?" - J. Siefert Rose, Xconomy, 09/08/15

Refreshing Perspective

"Religious freedom 'does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable disease' (Prince v. Massachusetts, 1944)."

Let us all rejoice! Amen!

Re: "Shifting Vaccination Politics - The End of Personal-Belief Exemptions in California", M.M. Mello, JD, PhD, D.M. Studdert, LLB, ScD, & W.E. Parmet, JD, New England Journal of Medicine, 373:785-787, 08/27/15

Side-Stepping the Smoke and Mirrors

Sign the petition please!

"Tell U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Stop Fighting Anti-Smoking Measures"

"As reported in a major exposé by The New York Times (06/30/15), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken a systematic approach to enriching the world's biggest tobacco companies by fighting life-saving public health policies worldwide. It’s shameful that the face of American business is defending a product projected to kill 1 billion people this century. And we won't stand for it."

Precisely

“Without minimizing the possible gains to clinical care from greater realization of precision medicine’s promise, we worry that an unstinting focus on precision medicine by trusted spokespeople for health is a mistake — and a distraction from the goal of producing a healthier population.” - Dean of Boston University School of Public Health and Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Re: "Public Health in the Precision-Medicine Era", R. Bayer, PhD & S. Galea, MD, DrPH, New England Journal of Medicine, 373:499-501, 08/06/15

Inside Amazon: All Signs Point to Cult

Learning about the Amazon workplace culture makes me sick to my stomach...

If this isn't a cult, I don't know what is. I feel sorry for these people, and for the many people whose employers emulate this style of dehumanizing their staff.

"[Employees] endure the hardships for the cause of delivering swim goggles and rolls of Scotch tape to customers just a little quicker." Sounds like it's totally worth it...

Re: "Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace", J. Kantor & D. Streitfeld, The New York Times, 08/15/15

So Misunderstood: Paleolithic Man & Diet

"I think evolutionary biology can have a lot to say about food and health,” said Dr. Thomas. “But nutrition is so incredibly complex, and we’ve only scratched the surface."

Re: "For Evolving Brains, a 'Paleo' Diet of Carbs", C. Zimmer, The New York Times, 08/13/15

Drugmakers & Their Shameless Plugs

Recent trend of celebrity drug endorsements through social media will be an interesting thing to keep an eye on - agree with the author that prescription drug marketing is shameless and should be heavily regulated, i.e. barred.

Re: "Kim Kardashian, Dr. Oz, and TV Drug Ads", J. LaMattina, Forbes, 08/13/15