‘Have we just lived through one of the best years in human history? As we look at 2023 through the rearview mirror, I think that’s a defensible claim. In fact, the same thing could have been said at the end of pretty much every year since the beginning of the millennium (with the exception of the disastrous pandemic years of 2020 and 2021). Never before have so many people lived in affluence, safety, and good health.

And yet, it doesn’t feel that way. There’s so much horror and misery in the world—look at the situations in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen alone—that it is hard to believe that, on average, this past year was probably the best year ever. So, if life is better than ever before, why does the world seem so depressing?…

…there are more fundamental reasons why almost all news outlets display a negativity bias. To understand why news is almost invariably depressing—and why Rolf Dobelli is right that you probably shouldn’t read it—I’ve drawn up a list of Seven Laws of Pessimism. Some of the underlying principles will be familiar to anyone who has read the work of progress thinkers like Steven Pinker, Hans Rosling, Hannah Ritchie, and Johan Norberg, while others are more obscure. Hopefully, this list will work as an antidote whenever excessive news consumption makes you feel despondent:

1. The Law of the Invisibility of Good News: Progress happens gradually and imperceptibly, while regress happens all at once and immediately grabs our attention…

2. The Law of The Velocity of Bad News: Nothing travels faster than the speed of light, except bad news…

3. The Law of Rubbernecking: The more gruesome the news, the more we lap it up…

4. The Law of Conservation of Outrage: No matter how much progress the world is achieving, the total amount of outrage remains constant…

5. The Law of Awful Attraction: If you don’t find bad news, bad news will find you…

6. The Law of Self-Effacing Solutions: Once a solution has been achieved, people forget about the original problem (and only see further problems)…

7. The Law of Disinfecting Sunlight: The freer a society, the more ugly things will surface…’ (Maarten Boudry via quillette.com)

‘Tension has been growing between the two candidates since the New Hampshire primary, in which trump won 54.3 percent of the vote. But Haley kept it to about an 11-point gap, closer than most polling predicted.

But in the speeches that followed, Haley treated the night like a victory, calling the primary “far from over,” while trump attacked his opponent by mocking her clothing, and saying she had “a very bad night.” trump has been ramping up his personal attacks on Haley, bringing back his “birdbrain” nickname from earlier in the primary and even using an incorrect version of Haley’s first name, “Nimrada.” (Her first name is Nimarata.)

In the days that followed the primary, the back-and-forth between the two has been an increasingly sharp series of barbs — with Haley building on a new strategy of going directly after a candidate she has avoided criticizing too harshly until now….’ (POLITICO)

Related: George Conway tells Nikki Haley how to beat “deteriorating” trump at his own game

‘After George Conway pointed out the obvious on MSNBC — that donald trump “is deteriorating under pressure” — he explained how Nikki Haley could beat him at his own sadistic game.

“Point out the crazy,” the never-trump Republican told host Willie Geist. 

“People like donald trump know that they are not what they pretend to be,” Conway said, after calling trump out for his pathological narcissism. “He talks about being a stable genius because he knows he is neither stable nor a genius, and he’s been doing that for years.”

Conway, one of the founding members of the Lincoln Project, then pinpointed the reasons for trump’s glaring deterioration, being “the pressure of the legal cases” and “his advanced age.”

So if Haley wants to take advantage of trump’s many fears and weaknesses, Conway suggests she continually push his frazzled buttons. “You need to needle him,” he said. “The campaign has to be as much a psychological operation against donald trump’s empty brain as it must be an attempt to persuade voters, because the two go hand in hand.”…’ (Boing Boing)

Related: ‘Not a good night for donald trump’: Why never-trumpers think he’s really losing

‘Polls and exit surveys from Iowa and New Hampshire show swaths of the Republican electorate cast ballots specifically against trump — and would refuse to vote for him in November. Independents who helped hand trump a general election loss in 2020 helped fuel record turnout in New Hampshire’s GOP primary. And trump didn’t make major strides in either state in the highly educated areas where he was weakest in 2016….’ (POLITICO)

‘A controversial Alabama execution took place on Thursday, reigniting scrutiny of the death penalty and highlighting the enduring nature of the practice despite attempts to end it.

Physicians and human rights experts have condemned the execution — which relied on an untested method known as nitrogen hypoxia — due to concerns that it would be painful and inhumane. Alabama ultimately used this method to execute a man named Kenneth Eugene Smith, after the state botched his first scheduled execution in 2022 when it couldn’t find an accessible vein for a lethal injection. Smith was sentenced to the death penalty following a capital murder conviction in 1988….’ (Vox)

‘Stray cats harm wildlife. Should we kill them?…’ (Vox)

‘The American Museum of Natural History will close two major halls exhibiting Native American objects, its leaders said on Friday, in a dramatic response to new federal regulations that require museums to obtain consent from tribes before displaying or performing research on cultural items…

The museum is closing galleries dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains this weekend, and covering a number of other display cases featuring Native American cultural items as it goes through its enormous collection to make sure it is in compliance with the new federal rules, which took effect this month….’ (New York Times)

‘Researchers at Saitama University in Japan discovered that plants employ a systemic emergency broadcast system in response to unsafe situations. Microbiologists Yuri Aratani and Takuya Uemura used fluorescence imaging to show that injured plants used calcium signaling to warn healthy plants of imminent danger….’ (Laughing Squid)

‘Of his recent gaffes, his comments about the Vietnam War are particularly alarming.

The video of his confused speech begins mid-sentence: “…fields and jungles of Vietnam. They delivered a swift and swippy… and you know that sweeping. It was swift and it was sweeping like nobody’s ever seen anything happen. A victory in Operation Desert Storm. A lot of you were involved in that. A lot of you were involved. That was a quick one.”…’ (Boing Boing)

‘donald trump continues to slide after mixing up Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, confusing Vietnam with Desert Storm, and forgetting that Obama is no longer the president. In fact, yesterday in New Hampshire he resorted to garbled speech, incoherent sentences, and nonsensical sounds.

“Which is incapable of salvin’ even the swollest, smallest problem,” he slurred at a rally hours before the the Granite State’s polls would open. “We are an institute in a powerful death penalty. We will put this on.” (See video below, posted by Biden-Harris HQ.)

trump also described the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system with sound effects. “And they calmly walk to us see, and ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,” the GOP frontrunner said. “They’ve only got 17 seconds to figure this whole thing out. Bomp. Okay. Missile launch, psheem, pfoom.” (See second video below, posted by Acyn.)…’ (Boing Boing)

‘It sure looks like donald trump has decided Nikki Haley will beat him in New Hampshire. To preserve his fragile ego and the story his cult-like adherents cling to — that trump is some sort of a winner — the loser is lying about voting rules. If voters chose to register as a Republican, they can participate in the NH Republican primary. It is a normal cause of action that passionate voters may change party to vote against someone in the primary. This is very common in my home state of California. trump is claiming this is Democrats stealing the election for Haley… (Boing Boing)

‘This spring, two different broods of cicadas — one that lives on a 13-year cycle and the other that lives on a 17-year cycle — will emerge at the same time from underground in a rare, synchronized event that last occurred in 1803.

Billions of the winged insects will make an appearance across the Midwest and the Southeast, beginning in some places in late April, for a raucous mating ritual that tends to inspire fascination and annoyance in equal measure.

This year’s dual emergence is a once-in-a-lifetime event. While any given 13-year brood and 17-year brood can occasionally emerge at the same time, each specific pair will see their cycles aligned only once every 221 years. What’s more, this year’s cicada groups, known as Brood XIII and Brood XIX, happened to make their homes adjacent to one another, with a narrow overlap in central Illinois….’ (NBC News)

‘Ambassadors to Washington warn that the GOP-Democratic divide is endangering America’s national security….’ (POLITICO)

‘As the justices confront a historic case with enormous political stakes, they might seek a narrow way out….’ (POLITICO)

Here are the suggestions, whose merits are discussed in the article:

— POTUS isn’t an ‘officer’: The 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” lists various positions that cannot be held by anyone who “engaged in insurrection” after taking an oath to “support the Constitution.” Those positions include senators, representatives, and presidential and vice-presidential electors. Conspicuously, the clause does not explicitly list the presidency itself as a covered position — but it does contain a catch-all provision barring insurrectionists from holding “any office, civil or military, under the United States.” …

— Maybe there ought to be a law, but there isn’t: Another major ambiguity in the insurrection clause is that the text is silent about who decides whether a person is an insurrectionist. (It does say Congress can restore an individual’s eligibility by a two-thirds vote of both chambers, but not who decides someone is ineligible in the first place.) In legal terms, the question is whether the disqualification provision is “self-executing” or whether Congress has to pass a law for it to apply…

— This isn’t fair to trump: While there are several variations of this argument, the basic thrust is that the trial that led the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that trump should be kicked off the ballot there didn’t do enough to safeguard trump’s rights and allow him to contest the allegations that he led an insurrection. An aggressive version of this claim asserts that the only way to knock trump out of the election would be for him to be convicted of the specific federal crime of leading a “rebellion or insurrection.” While trump is facing four federal felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, none is that particular charge, even though the House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department to charge him with it. (And, of course, he hasn’t been convicted.) A more modest iteration of the argument was put forward by one of the Colorado Supreme Court’s dissenting justices, who derided as “substandard” the procedures used for trump’s trial in Colorado — which was a civil suit proceeding under the state’s election law, not a criminal trial…

— It’s too soon to declare trump ineligible: The justices might conclude that it’s simply too early to weigh in on trump’s eligibility. Perhaps the 14th Amendment’s bar kicks in only during the general election that picks the office-holder, not during primaries that determine party nominations. Or perhaps the amendment merely bars insurrectionists from taking office and cannot actually be used to prevent them from running for office…

— The case is too hot to handle: When thorny, politically charged issues arise in court, judges sometimes simply declare the cases too political for the legal system to resolve — effectively sending them back to other branches of government. The justices could invoke this principle, known as the “political question doctrine,” to bow out of the issue of trump’s disqualification, but doing so would likely leave the Colorado Supreme Court decision in place…

‘A new discovery could help scientists to understand “strange metals,” a class of materials that are related to high-temperature superconductors and share fundamental quantum attributes with black holes….’ (Brown University)

‘EnviroFlash sends air quality messages right to your inbox. Know your air quality so you and your family can know when it’s a good time to be active outside.
To start getting air quality messages today, or to update your EnviroFlash account, enter your email here:

EnviroFlash is a partnership between the US EPA and your state or local air quality agency….’

(EnviroFlash Mobile Sign-Up)

‘Matt Barta captured the very unusual event of an articulated robotic arm sliding back on the table to reach its own power source and unplug itself during an event of some sort. Barta found the incident rather amusing….’ (Reddit)

As a child I had a toy which was a box with lid and power switch. When you turned on the power, a hand came out of the box and turned it off. Ooh, just found it: Wikipedia calls these “useless machines”. 

‘Thirty-two-year-old Kelsey Hatcher welcomed two beautiful baby girls into the world last week, delivering fraternal twins at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital. But unlike typical twins, the newborns came from two separate wombs.

Hatcher vaginally delivered her first baby, Roxi, at 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 19, followed by Rebel, who was delivered by c-section about 10 hours later on Dec. 20….’ (NPR)

Thanks to Richard, who replied “Rabbit, rabbit” to the reprise of my annual ‘New Year’s Customs and Traditions’ post below. 

I was not acquainted with the quirky British and American tradition that, if you say these words before anything else on the first day of the month, it will bring good luck for the month to come. Appropriately, it led me down a rabbit hole, exploring the origins, variations, and some of the ramifications of the belief. 

Because of their legendary fecundity, rabbits are associated with flourishing and good luck in many cultures. As the fourth sign in the Chinese zodiac, the rabbit is particularly auspicious. In various Native American cultures, the rabbit is a trickster valued for cleverness, problem-solving ability, and capacity to escape predators. The ancient Celts reportedly believed that rabbits’ advantages related to the fact that they could communicate with spirits because they burrowed underground.

According to this piece in the Farmer’s Almanac, the first written reference to the use of the particular phrase “Rabbit, Rabbit” to bring good fortune was a 1909 report in an English periodical of a parent who noted  that his children uttered the phrase up the chimney on the first of the month in hopes of getting a gift. The writer commented that they knew other children to share the custom.

A Wikipedia article about the custom notes several 20th century literary depictions. FDR claimed to say “Rabbits” on the first of each month and also carried a rabbit’s foot during the 1932 presidential election he won by a landslide.

More about rabbits’ feet:

Also, a rabbit’s foot, especially the back-left one, has long been thought to be a good luck charm. In African-American folk spirituality, it was thought that rabbits’ feet would increase fertility since rabbits themselves are so fertile. But there were some rather eerie stipulations about those feet: the rabbit must be captured or killed in a cemetery, and the foot must be cut off on a certain day of the week under specific circumstances. 

WWII British fighter pilots “opted for even greater luck by using the phrase daily”.  Gilda Radner’s version was “Bunny bunny” and journalist Simon Winchester claimed that he had recited “White rabbits” for 696 consecutive months beginning at age four. The custom may be related to another folkloric practice of invoking rabbit-related phrases to avoid smoke being blown into one’s face when gathered around a campfire. Some speculate that it may originate with a North American First Nation story about smoke resembling rabbit fur. 

Many who entered comments to the Farmer’s Almanac piece wrote that they thought their families were the only ones with this odd practice. One commenter taught the practice by his mother thought it was a Jamaican custom until his 20’s when he learned it was common in New England. In fact, there do appear to be a disproportionate number of comments originating in Maine. Folklorists have collected numerous variations on this superstition from areas of rural England and areas of North America rich in English immigrants.

During the 1990’s the US children’s cable TV channel Nickelodeon would, during commercial breaks in its programming, promote the last day of each month as “Rabbit Rabbit Day” and remind its young viewers to say the phrase the next morning. 

Numerous variations on the tradition have been described. Triple repetition appears to be common. One reader was taught to say “Jack rabbit” and a significant number say “White rabbits” (or text it). One wrote in to 

…say “HARES” as the last word on last day of month before going to sleep. Say “RABBITS” first thing the following morning, or “WHITE RABBITS” if you forgot HARES the previous night.

In another’s family, they yell “Bunny bunny” at midnight instead of “Happy New Year.” Some make a competition of being the first to say it and complain that foreign exchange students to whom they have taught the custom have a competitive advantage because of the time difference. 

Staying awake on the last night of the month and uttering the phrase at 12:01 am or, if one goes to sleep earlier, saying it first thing upon waking are both suggested. If the phrase brings good luck, does forgetting to say it foretell a less fortunate month? According to one source, when you realize you have forgotten you can be in the clear by saying “Tibbar Tibbar” (the phrase backwards) as soon as you can, or “Black rabbit” before you go to sleep that night.

There are some beliefs contradicting the luck brought by rabbits. 19th century seamen would reportedly not use the word at sea. And seeing a white rabbit in one’s village in South Devon was a sure sign that a seriously ill person was likely to die. 

One columnist in New England opines,

I don’t subscribe to the idea that we need to perform ritual in order to call fortune into our lives. But I do believe I should honor my family and maybe this is how I do it. At this late date in the family history, it would seem sacrilegious to abandon this tradition. And so I keep on. And delight when I find another soul who has carried this old superstition into the 21st century. And to all, I say, Rabbit!

Related: Rabbit Rabbit:

‘…a trivia card game of superstitions, myths, and folklore for 1-10 players, providing a peek into the stories told and passed down through the ages to make sense of a complicated world and to help us feel in control of our own destiny.

Possibly related? The three hares (or three rabbits)

‘…is a circular motif appearing in sacred sites from East Asia, the Middle East and to the churches of Devon, England (as the “Tinners’ Rabbits”), and historical synagogues in Europe. It is used as an architectural ornament, a religious symbol, and in other modern works of art or a logo for adornment (including tattoos), jewelry, and a coat of arms on an escutcheon. It is viewed as a puzzle, a topology problem or a visual challenge, and has been rendered as sculpture, drawing, and painting.

The symbol features three hares or rabbits chasing each other in a circle. Like the triskelion, the triquetra, and their antecedents (e.g., the triple spiral), the symbol of the three hares has a threefold rotational symmetry. Each of the ears is shared by two hares, so that only three ears are shown. Although its meaning is apparently not explained in contemporary written sources from any of the medieval cultures where it is found, it is thought to have a range of symbolic or mystical associations with fertility and the lunar cycle. When used in Christian churches, it is presumed to be a symbol of the Trinity. Its origins and original significance are uncertain, as are the reasons why it appears in such diverse locations.

See also:

• Borromean rings
• List of fictional hares and rabbits
• Moon gazing hare – Genus of mammals in the family Leporidae
• Moon rabbit – Mythical creature in Asian folklore who lives on the Moon
• Rabbits in the arts – Presence of rabbits and hares in the visual arts
• Rabbits in culture and literature– Mammals of the family Leporidae
• The Three Rabbits – Animation studio in Budapest, Hungary, a Hungarian animated short film
• Three Rabbit Islands – group of three uninhabited small islands off the north coast of Sutherland, Scotland in Tongue Bay, in Scotland
• Three wise monkeys
• Triple deity – Three deities that are worshipped as one