Featured Links - December 4, 2023

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

A faded burning bush

• Towards an Optimal Diet. "In aggregate, several recent publications, two very popular books, and a new, large $189 million NIH clinical trial, may help to provide an objective basis for what we should eat to be and stay healthy."
• Google Rolls Out New Accessibility Features to Make Daily Tasks Easier. "New features in Maps, Search and Chrome are aimed at helping users with disabilities navigate their devices more easily."
• How ‘Skeuomorphism’ Is Making U.S. Roads More Deadly. "After you read this, you'll never look at a "frunk" the same way again." Trucks of that size should only be available for commercial use.
• Spirals inspire walking aids for people with disabilities. "Engineers design a special shoe that may improve gait and a skateboard that rocks and rolls." 
• The real AI fight. "Effective Accelerationists and Effective Altruists are both in vigorous agreement about something genuinely stupid."
• The Secret Language of Ships. "Signs and symbols on the sides of ships tell stories about an industry few outsiders understand."
• Our fragile moment: how lessons from Earth’s past can help us survive the climate crisis. "In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course."
• 'What I want are recovery narratives': CBC Radio host Gill Deacon on life with long COVID. "CBC Here & Now host is among the 10-15% of people who will get long COVID, research suggests." After suffering for months with long COVID symptoms, she had a blood test to confirm that she had had COVID-19 because her case was completely asymptomatic.