Short version: Tweets spark controversy, Google studies teamwork, New Zealand takes the record for largest parrot, hire bikes pile up around China, and you can now get berglabs in your inbox.
Long version:
Guns, Germs, and Neil deGrasse Tyson
Last weekend the US experienced another mass shooting. Sadly another is the correct word, as the US averages nearly one mass shooting a day. A series of charts compiled by vox make the correlation between prevalence of guns and deaths pretty clear. Neil deGrasse Tyson in the wake of the shooting on the weekend shared some statistics (listing other preventable causes of death that occur at higher rates). This resulted in outcry on social media. That tweet and the reaction is an example of why technocracy ultimately fails; people are emotional and those emotions are real and matter.
Re: Work
Google makes a lot of money, and can afford to spend it on developing its culture and staff. Most famously this is through perks like free on site cafes and restaurants, bean-bag rooms, and video game set ups. More useful to non-googlers is the research they conduct and share on improving workplace practices. This week I was shown Project Aristotle, particularly the actions for fostering psychological safety.
Big Birds
This week in Biology Letters an article was published describing New Zealand’s giant parrot, a bird estimated to weigh 7 kg and stand about waist height. This would be similar in size to a modern albatross, as well being twice as large as the largest known parrot, however at such size it likely could not fly. It adds to New Zealand’s collection of exceptionally large and extinct birds, such as the famous Moa.
Bicycle Business Blunders
This article from the Atlantic has some incredible photos of abandoned bicycles in China. The collapse of ofo, a bike sharing company that placed millions of bright yellow bikes in cities around the world, came up discussing Matt Levine’s piece on MoviePass. Rapid growth is alluring to investors, but clearly doesn’t always lead to success.
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Photos from the Week
Unimpressed Onion 
Running in the Sun 
Pie!
2 Replies to “2019 Week 32: Unsympathetic Science”