Solitary Confinement, Research Publishing, and Homeschooling

SUVs are horrible for pedestrian safety, but certain types of streets are bad for human beings, no matter which cars are on them.

On the history of solitary confinement (with a photo from the piece, below):

“The idea of the solitary cell as an integral part of the American prison system arose during the Early Republic, the specific vision of Philadelphia physician and Founding Father Benjamin Rush, who advocated for time in solitude and silence — the active, searching silence of Quakerism — as an alternative to the bodily pain, injury, and humiliation of public hangings and whippings. He saw it as a means not only of punishment but of reformation for housebreakers, forgers, highway robbers, horse thieves, and even murderers, and his vision of justice eventually led to the construction of the world’s first penitentiary, Eastern State, designed by architect John Haviland, and raised on the grounds of an old cherry orchard three miles outside of Philadelphia’s city limits.”

A plan to shake-up research publishing, which (in my opinion) desperately needs a good shaking.

An interesting piece on cell-based therapies, and how their advent might represent the end of medicine (because we’ll no longer need it, as it exists today).

In the US, homeschooling is the fastest-growing form of education:

Accurate AI detection (for writing, but also other types of media) isn’t really a thing, but it’s being treated as if it is, which could cause a lot of trouble for writers whose work raises flags with AI-detection systems.

We need a single list of all life on Earth, and most taxonomists now agree on how to start.

How to fall down a rabbit hole (some interesting and useful prompts / question-paths).

What if someone is delusional, but their delusions bring them joy?