Several friends now these so-called digital assistants (or voice assistants or virtual assistants or just smart devices), such as Amazon Echo (Alexa), Google Home (Assistant), Apple Homepod (Siri), etc, and most of them are now well and truly hooked, line and sinker.
Personally, I am not particularly tempted - phones and computers work well enough for me. But neither am I someone who is unduly perturbed by the amount of data various services and devices have on me. My take is that if I don't have anything to hide, and I am intelligent enough to make my own decision on purchases and not be swayed by advertising, then personalized content can only help me, and make my life easier.
That said, there is still something a bit unsettling about the fact that these devices are always listening. They have to be always listening, so that when you call out "Hey Alexa" or "OK Google", the device is ready to respond. But this also means that they don't only start listening when you verbally activate them, and that they are privy to (and possibly also recording and relaying to head office) private conversations not intended for the little box in the corner.
There are many anecdotal reports of people receiving blanket advertising on their various devices on an obscure subject which might have just been mentioned casually in a private conversation in the same room as an (apparently sleeping) digital assistant, and children "accidentally" ordering expensive items from Amazon. However, it seems far fron clear just how much data is being recorded while the machines are on stand-by, and even the different conpanies' policies on selling your data seems woefully poorly defined.
Apple's privacy policy (and its anecdotal record) seems to be better than that of Amazon and Google, although it is still not spotless. But then, they are not in the same game of accumulating data for advertising purposes as the other two companies, otherwise I have no doubt that Apple would be pushing the boundaries of privacy laws too.
There certainly seems to be cause for concern, shall we say, and some commentators are actively warming people off the devices.
It's not my intention to warn people of these undeniably fun and useful machine. I'm just saying: go in with your eyes open. If you are the kind of person who worries about privacy, they may not be a good idea for you.
Oh, and just as an aside, what's with all the female voices and names these machines have? There's a whole load of psycho-socio-political baggage behind that. It seems that, even in this day and age, if people want competent, efficient, reliable, polite and deferential, they automatically and overwhelmingly think "female". These tech companies have done their marketing homework, and it seems that the vast majority of users do not want an authoritative, hyper-intelligent male figure like IBM's Watson IA computer, but a friendly, unthreatening, even slightly sexy, persona, who can banter and give sassy responses to certain preprogrammed stupid questions. (For the record, both Siri and Google Assistant can be changed to have a male voice, although Alexa and Microsoft's Cortana cannot.)
Sexist? Maybe, maybe not. More like just human nature. And women should not necessarily be offended by being considered more competant and polite than men - sounds like a good thing to me.
Saturday, January 05, 2019
Friday, January 04, 2019
Indian fundamentalist Hindus giving religion a bad name ... again
India and Hinduism are in the news again for all the wrong reasons. Long gone are any images of gentle, vegetarian peaceniks - India under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Narendra Modi is a scary place of vitriol, persecution and violence.
In September of 2017, the Indian Supreme Court bravely ruled that it was against the country's laws on gender discrimination for temples to disallow women "of menstruation age" (which is usually taken as 10 to 60 years old, regardless of whether or not they are having a period). Even more bravely, three women have since run the testosterone-laden gauntlet of the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, south India, which is supposedly dedicated to a celibate Hindu deity, in a bid to exercise their legal (and, I suppose, religious) rights.
Since the court ruling, rabid crowds of male protestors - encouraged, it should be noted, by the BJP - have blocked women from entering the temple, and even blocked roads leading to the temple, looking for women who might want to sneak in to their precious male bastion. To the credit of the state government and police, all three women who have entered the temple have done so under police protection, ridiculous though that may sound, and the police force says it will extend this service to any woman wanting to enter the temple (although, arguably, why would they want to?).
Meanwhile, the whole state of Kerala is effectively paralyzed because of the ongoing protests, with schools and public transportation closed down. Do these people have nothing better to do? In what way do they think they are serving their religion?
In September of 2017, the Indian Supreme Court bravely ruled that it was against the country's laws on gender discrimination for temples to disallow women "of menstruation age" (which is usually taken as 10 to 60 years old, regardless of whether or not they are having a period). Even more bravely, three women have since run the testosterone-laden gauntlet of the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, south India, which is supposedly dedicated to a celibate Hindu deity, in a bid to exercise their legal (and, I suppose, religious) rights.
Since the court ruling, rabid crowds of male protestors - encouraged, it should be noted, by the BJP - have blocked women from entering the temple, and even blocked roads leading to the temple, looking for women who might want to sneak in to their precious male bastion. To the credit of the state government and police, all three women who have entered the temple have done so under police protection, ridiculous though that may sound, and the police force says it will extend this service to any woman wanting to enter the temple (although, arguably, why would they want to?).
Meanwhile, the whole state of Kerala is effectively paralyzed because of the ongoing protests, with schools and public transportation closed down. Do these people have nothing better to do? In what way do they think they are serving their religion?
Thursday, January 03, 2019
Ultima Thule, a "flying interplanetary snowman"
As NASA's New Horizons probe continues its epic journey through and beyond the solar system, its encounter with a planetoid labelled Ultima Thule (that's pronounced too-lay, by the way, and is the traditional name for places beyond the known world since Greek and Roman times) is exciting a lot of comment and attention.
Ultima Thule is about 1.5 billion km beyond the orbit of even Pluto, and 6.5 billion km from Earth, deep in the Kuiper Belt of asteroids and messy rocky debris. Originally described as the shape of a bowling pin from its early poor resolution images, more recent higher resolution images show two more-or-less spherical planetoids, one about three times the size of the other, stuck together in the early stages of planetary aggregation. The best description now is of a "flying interplanetary snowman", which I find a much more satisfying and memorable depiction.
Unfortunately, it has a distinct reddish tinge, which rather spoils the whole Frosty image. Still, think of Frosty blushing, or Raymond Briggs' Snowman warming himself by the fireplace, and you come close to an enduring - and endearing - image of Ultima Thule.
Ultima Thule is about 1.5 billion km beyond the orbit of even Pluto, and 6.5 billion km from Earth, deep in the Kuiper Belt of asteroids and messy rocky debris. Originally described as the shape of a bowling pin from its early poor resolution images, more recent higher resolution images show two more-or-less spherical planetoids, one about three times the size of the other, stuck together in the early stages of planetary aggregation. The best description now is of a "flying interplanetary snowman", which I find a much more satisfying and memorable depiction.
Unfortunately, it has a distinct reddish tinge, which rather spoils the whole Frosty image. Still, think of Frosty blushing, or Raymond Briggs' Snowman warming himself by the fireplace, and you come close to an enduring - and endearing - image of Ultima Thule.
Wednesday, January 02, 2019
It is not OK for chiropractors to claim they can prevent or cure cancer
It looks like something MAY finally get done about regulating the chiropractic profession in Ontario. Complaints are flooding in, not only from critics of the current (extremely lax) regulatory system, but also from chiropractors themselves.
The problem is that there are chiropractors and chiropractors. Most of the complaints are being levelled at the so-called "vitalist" chiropractors, who believe that "subluxations" (impingements of nerves in the spine) can block some putative healing force in the body. Unfortunately, there is no well-founded scientific evidence that these subluxations actually exist, much less that there is some ill-defined healing force to be blocked by them. Many vitalists also actively advocate against vaccinations. Some vitalists even publicly claim that their treatments can prevent cancer, giving their cause something of a snake oil feel.
An Australian chiropractor who claimed to be able to treat cancer was convicted and fined for false advertising in 2017, and the BC regulatory body for chiropractors recently gave very clear guidelines which say in plain English that there is no acceptable scientific evidence that chiropractic can treat Alzheimer's Disease, cancer, diabetes, infertility, infections, autism, ADHD or Down Sy.drome.
The vitalists, though, are quite an influential group, with four of the nine members of the council of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO) falling into their camp, and the body has failed to clamp down on such unsubstantiated, even fraudulent, claims. Many chiropractors, as well as other practitioners, are starting to speak out, though, arguing that the body is failing to protect the public, and that it should limit licensed chiropractors to those employing more mainstream evidence-based procedures like the treatment of musculoskeletal problems such as lower back pain. The Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) have made specific complaints the CCO, arguing that its continued sanctioning of claims like those about preventing cancer is bringing the practice into disrepute, even though the CCO's own rules say unequovacably that "chiropractors in Ontario cannot make or advertise claims to cure or treat conditions unrelated to the chiropractic scope of practice".
No specific action is being brought against the CCO, and the overseeing government body, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, seems loath to get involved, despite the evidence being presented to it. But the outcry is growing, and it seems to be only a matter of time before some long-overdue changes are made.
The problem is that there are chiropractors and chiropractors. Most of the complaints are being levelled at the so-called "vitalist" chiropractors, who believe that "subluxations" (impingements of nerves in the spine) can block some putative healing force in the body. Unfortunately, there is no well-founded scientific evidence that these subluxations actually exist, much less that there is some ill-defined healing force to be blocked by them. Many vitalists also actively advocate against vaccinations. Some vitalists even publicly claim that their treatments can prevent cancer, giving their cause something of a snake oil feel.
An Australian chiropractor who claimed to be able to treat cancer was convicted and fined for false advertising in 2017, and the BC regulatory body for chiropractors recently gave very clear guidelines which say in plain English that there is no acceptable scientific evidence that chiropractic can treat Alzheimer's Disease, cancer, diabetes, infertility, infections, autism, ADHD or Down Sy.drome.
The vitalists, though, are quite an influential group, with four of the nine members of the council of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO) falling into their camp, and the body has failed to clamp down on such unsubstantiated, even fraudulent, claims. Many chiropractors, as well as other practitioners, are starting to speak out, though, arguing that the body is failing to protect the public, and that it should limit licensed chiropractors to those employing more mainstream evidence-based procedures like the treatment of musculoskeletal problems such as lower back pain. The Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) have made specific complaints the CCO, arguing that its continued sanctioning of claims like those about preventing cancer is bringing the practice into disrepute, even though the CCO's own rules say unequovacably that "chiropractors in Ontario cannot make or advertise claims to cure or treat conditions unrelated to the chiropractic scope of practice".
No specific action is being brought against the CCO, and the overseeing government body, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, seems loath to get involved, despite the evidence being presented to it. But the outcry is growing, and it seems to be only a matter of time before some long-overdue changes are made.
Yakhchal? What's a yakhchal?
A new year is upon us, and regular readers (ah, if only there were such a thing...) will be fascinated to know that I am starting to use a new bathroom page-a-day calendar. This year's is about unusual buildings and places around the world, and it is already throwing up some interesting stuff.
Take today's, for example. Who knew there was such a thing as a yakhchal? Turns out, a yakhchal is a kind of strange-looking construction, once common in Persia/Iran, which miraculously keeps ice frozen long into the hot desert summer. Technically, it is a kind of evaporative cooler, consisting of a dome- or cone-shaped structure above ground, made from a thick impermeable heat-resistant mix of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair and ash, with a much larger underground storage chamber. The design somehow filters cool air downwards and warm air up and out, although the whole process is actually way more complex than that.
Anyway, there you go. Yakhchal. Who knew?
Take today's, for example. Who knew there was such a thing as a yakhchal? Turns out, a yakhchal is a kind of strange-looking construction, once common in Persia/Iran, which miraculously keeps ice frozen long into the hot desert summer. Technically, it is a kind of evaporative cooler, consisting of a dome- or cone-shaped structure above ground, made from a thick impermeable heat-resistant mix of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair and ash, with a much larger underground storage chamber. The design somehow filters cool air downwards and warm air up and out, although the whole process is actually way more complex than that.
Anyway, there you go. Yakhchal. Who knew?
Tuesday, January 01, 2019
Religion has no place in the legal definition of death
It's difficult to believe that we are still debating the legal point of death in this day and age, but apparently we are. The issue has raised its hoary head once again with the natural death of 27-year old Taquisha McKitty, after over a year of artificially-maintained "life".
Ms. McKitty initially died from a drug overdose after taking a toxic cocktail of street drugs in 2017. First responders encountered no pulse, but managed to get her breathing again artificially on a ventilator. Swelling in her brain cut off oxygen to her brain, though, and she was declared brain-dead six days later. The woman's religious family, though, believed that she was still alive (on the grounds that her heart was still beating, albeit with mechanical assistance), and took a legal fight to Ontario's top courts in order to block the hospital's intention to discontinue life support. As a letter in the Globe astutely points out, this legal battle did not prolong Ms. McKitty's life, it prolonged her death.
We've seen this kind of thing before, usually involving fundamentalist Muslims, Jews or Christian's, who think they know better than the medical profession. In Ontario, as in many other jurisdictions, the definition of death is left up to doctors, but brain death is usually defined as essentially a situation where a person no longer has the capacity for consciousness and is unable to breathe without help. It's the best we can do. Some religious folk, though, feel the need to muddy the waters by insisting in their own definition or interpretation, thereby eroding public trust in doctors. The unfortunate dead woman is described by the family and their lawyer as deeply religious, notwithstanding her drug habits and her teen pregnancy.
Religion should have nothing to do with it, though. What if someone claimed that their religion dictated that a person could only be considered dead once all their flesh had melted off the bone? Or, conversely, when a person's eyes were closed for longer than a day, regardless of heart or brain function? Such examples may seem far-fetched, but they are far from inconceivable. Should we pander to such views? Surely not; that way madness lies. Why, then, should we have to take account of other non-scientific viewpoints? Doctors have a hard enough task as it is, let's not make it any harder by incorporating the randomness of religion.
Ms. McKitty initially died from a drug overdose after taking a toxic cocktail of street drugs in 2017. First responders encountered no pulse, but managed to get her breathing again artificially on a ventilator. Swelling in her brain cut off oxygen to her brain, though, and she was declared brain-dead six days later. The woman's religious family, though, believed that she was still alive (on the grounds that her heart was still beating, albeit with mechanical assistance), and took a legal fight to Ontario's top courts in order to block the hospital's intention to discontinue life support. As a letter in the Globe astutely points out, this legal battle did not prolong Ms. McKitty's life, it prolonged her death.
We've seen this kind of thing before, usually involving fundamentalist Muslims, Jews or Christian's, who think they know better than the medical profession. In Ontario, as in many other jurisdictions, the definition of death is left up to doctors, but brain death is usually defined as essentially a situation where a person no longer has the capacity for consciousness and is unable to breathe without help. It's the best we can do. Some religious folk, though, feel the need to muddy the waters by insisting in their own definition or interpretation, thereby eroding public trust in doctors. The unfortunate dead woman is described by the family and their lawyer as deeply religious, notwithstanding her drug habits and her teen pregnancy.
Religion should have nothing to do with it, though. What if someone claimed that their religion dictated that a person could only be considered dead once all their flesh had melted off the bone? Or, conversely, when a person's eyes were closed for longer than a day, regardless of heart or brain function? Such examples may seem far-fetched, but they are far from inconceivable. Should we pander to such views? Surely not; that way madness lies. Why, then, should we have to take account of other non-scientific viewpoints? Doctors have a hard enough task as it is, let's not make it any harder by incorporating the randomness of religion.
Ontario gas price fall no thanks to Doug Ford
In a move straight out of Donald Trump's playbook, Doug Ford and his merry band of Ontario Conservatives are pushing the limits of truthiness and realism by taking credit for the recent fall in gas prices in the province.
It is true that the price per litre of gas is hovering around the $1 mark at the moment, substantially down from the situation just a few months ago. What is not so true is that the price reductions are due to Ford's disembowelling of the province's cap-and-trade system (which is just about the only tangible effort Ontario has made towards dealing with climate change since it closed all of its coal-powered power stations several years ago).
Ford and Finance Minister Vic Fedelli and Health Minister Christine Elliot have all taken to Twitter in recent days to equate the lower pump prices with their cancellation of what they see as an iniquitous carbon tax. In actual fact, though, the vast majority of the fall in prices is due to external, global factors and not provincial fiscal policy. Average gas prices have fallen around 22c in recent months, mainly due to declining wholesale prices across North America. Only about 4c of that is due to the cancellation of cap-and-trade, but you would not know that to listen to the provincial Tories.
Fake news? Oh, don't get me started.
It is true that the price per litre of gas is hovering around the $1 mark at the moment, substantially down from the situation just a few months ago. What is not so true is that the price reductions are due to Ford's disembowelling of the province's cap-and-trade system (which is just about the only tangible effort Ontario has made towards dealing with climate change since it closed all of its coal-powered power stations several years ago).
Ford and Finance Minister Vic Fedelli and Health Minister Christine Elliot have all taken to Twitter in recent days to equate the lower pump prices with their cancellation of what they see as an iniquitous carbon tax. In actual fact, though, the vast majority of the fall in prices is due to external, global factors and not provincial fiscal policy. Average gas prices have fallen around 22c in recent months, mainly due to declining wholesale prices across North America. Only about 4c of that is due to the cancellation of cap-and-trade, but you would not know that to listen to the provincial Tories.
Fake news? Oh, don't get me started.
Told ya! - bitcoin: bubble
Way back in April 2017, I made an unapologetic prediction that the burgeoning bitcoin market, which was just getting going then, was a bubble, which would burst as bubbles always do, leaving a lot of vociferous supporters with egg on their face.
After that time, bitcoin's value seemed to go from strength to strength, all on the basis of precisely nothing, before starting to take a serious tumble in 2018. Currently, bitcoin is trading at $3,680, down from a high of $19,783 just over a year ago. Other major cryptocurrencies have taken a hit of around 90% over the last year: Litecoin down from $366 to $30, Etherium down from $1,400 to $130, etc.
Amazingly, some cryptocurrency aficionados are still predicting great things for bitcoin, with one musing, just today, that bitcoin may reach $50,000 in 2019! What? Me, I'll stick to my original analysis: cryptocurrencies are a bubble, do not touch them with a proverbial bargepole.
After that time, bitcoin's value seemed to go from strength to strength, all on the basis of precisely nothing, before starting to take a serious tumble in 2018. Currently, bitcoin is trading at $3,680, down from a high of $19,783 just over a year ago. Other major cryptocurrencies have taken a hit of around 90% over the last year: Litecoin down from $366 to $30, Etherium down from $1,400 to $130, etc.
Amazingly, some cryptocurrency aficionados are still predicting great things for bitcoin, with one musing, just today, that bitcoin may reach $50,000 in 2019! What? Me, I'll stick to my original analysis: cryptocurrencies are a bubble, do not touch them with a proverbial bargepole.