The polity that is Oklahoma

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that nearly half of Oklahoma falls within an Indian reservation, a decision that could reshape the criminal-justice system by preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The 5-to-4 decision, potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans...

2h

The New Yorker covers the Scott Alexander saga

By Gideon Lewis-Kraus. The post The New Yorker covers the Scott Alexander saga appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

3h

Thursday assorted links

1. Thor Heyderdahl vindicated (NYT). 2. Just a bit more distancing and Sweden suddenly fell to 17 deaths per week? 3. Heterogeneities in who is most vulnerable, amazing data set (NYT).  Original research is here. 4. Ross Douthat thread on free speech and coalitions. 5. They are solving for the equilibrium: “NYPD limits retirement applications...

4h

Pooled Testing is Super-Beneficial

Tyler and I have been pushing pooled testing for months. The primary benefit of pooled testing is obvious. If 1% are infected and we test 100 people individually we need 100 tests. If we split the group into five pools of twenty then if we’re lucky, we only need five tests. Of course, chances are that there will be some positives in at least one group...

9h

A highly qualified reader emails me on heterogeneity

I won’t indent further, all the rest is from the reader: “Some thoughts on your heterogeneity post. I agree this is still bafflingly under-discussed in “the discourse” & people are grasping onto policy arguments but ignoring the medical/bio aspects since ignorance of those is higher. Nobody knows the answer right now, obviously, but I did want...

16h

The Harpers free speech letter and controversy

Many of you have been asking for a more detailed account of what I think.  Here is an NYT summary of the debate, in case you have been living under a rock.  Of course I side with those who signed the letter, but I would add a few points. First, I don’t think the letter itself quite pinpoints what has gone wrong, nor do I think that such a collective...

1d

Wednesday assorted links

1. “Prisoners have long used contraband cellphones to pull off all manner of scams from the inside. But in attempting to build and sell a house from behind bars, Murray allegedly took things to a new level of sophistication.”  Link here, recommended. 2. Charlie Songhurst is one of the smartest people I know.  Podcast with him, recommended. 3. Acoustic...

1d

Sweden fact of the day

Cases in the Nordic country have declined sharply over the past few days and on Tuesday only 283 new cases were recorded. That contrasts with a torrid month of June when daily numbers ran as high as 1,800, eclipsing rates across much of Europe, even as deaths and hospitalisations continued to decline from peaks in April. At the same time: …weekly...

1d

Tuesday assorted links

1. Older people are less pessimistic about the health risks of Covid-19. 2. “…these results document that voting rights, when combined with elected, rather than appointed, chief law enforcement officers, can lead to improved treatment of minority groups by police.” 3. “We find that opposing effects of patience (positive) and risk-taking (negative)...

2d

Southeast Asia coronavirus update

Health officials praise Laos after coronavirus-free declaration (some new concerns here, so far nothing major) Cambodia has zero reported deaths, broadly consistent with anecdotal evidence too. Vietnam reports 14 new cases, all imported.  Broader record of zero deaths. No new Covid cases in Thailand Tuesday. Have you noticed that those four...

2d