The problem with the Webb space photos is that they're not real. The images are actually in black and white and then colorized. So, you're not really seeing what you would see with your own two eyes.
Not black and white but almost entirely out of the human visual spectrum. The telescope sees the actual difference in frequency and the colors are added. They are kind of real though, the reddish ones have "red shift" and it indicates a galaxy that is moving away from us very quickly, etc. It's as real as the light we can see with our eyes, just outside of what we can.
You wouldn’t see anything, too far away. Maybe a few stars. The light waves are stretched so far they’re out of the visual spectrum. That’s what telescopes are for.
The real journalistic crime would have been not divulging that you let Feder review/edit quotes. Feder's contribution to Chicago journalism over the past few decades has been immeasurable, thanks for the exit interview w/his friends Steinberg & Zorn.
I was in the "journo" world in college (Sigma Delta Chi, etc.). In my experience there, most of the serious journalism students did seem to view interviews as gotcha opportunities. They lived to bring down powerful people, in some cases apparently simply because they were powerful.
It has also been my observation that most regular people, including me, who have ever been interviewed have found, when reading the final product, at least one misrepresentation of what they said to the interviewer. It is easy to paraphrase a comment and completely change the gist of it, either accidentally or on purpose.
There should be more of a focus on accuracy and truth, and less on gotcha.
One of the tweets begs a lot of questions. Just how easy IS shooting fish in a barrel? How big is the barrel? Does it have water in it? How much water? How many fish? Are they alive? How far away from the barrel are you when you're shooting? I feel like I should write a letter to Roseanne Roseannadanna under my pseudonym of Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey.
I thought the Feder interview was excellent, even more so because he was allowed to edit his own words.
I like the Table of Contents w/links. I do scan the entire newsletter when I first open it and having the links to look at specific content afterwards is nice.
As someone who has been an enthusiastic amateur astronomer and photographer for the last 50 years, I have learned that the universe is a very colorful place. Even without a telescope, it’s apparent that the planet Mars and the star Antares are brilliant reds. With a short time exposure using only a normal camera, more colors appear, like the contrasting red and blue bright areas in Orion’s sword.
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye is quite small. The infrared portion, whose light the Webb telescope collects, is a lot wider. It encompasses a large number of wavelengths. The use of algorithms that add color to that data to help visualize what is out there in no way diminishes the “reality” of the photographs.
A picture of the “Stephan’s Quintet” of galaxies, shown in one of the photos from the new telescope, was used in the almost 80-year-old movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I took a screen grab of the old black-and-white picture from the movie, and made this video comparison with the brand new image.
Color enhancements aside, there’s no denying the huge technological strides that have allowed for much sharper detail and revealed many more objects than old earthbound telescopes. That’s as real as it gets.
Not an H. Walker fan or supporter. And his comments are profoundly muddled. However, there has been ample reporting on studies from as far back as 2010 (and repeatedly confirmed) that air pollution that originates in China quickly traverses the Pacific and has significantly increased pollution in California. In addition, the data on carbon emissions clearly show that climate change improvements in the US and Europe to-date (and in the future) have been totally overwhelmed by abatement failures in China and India. Continued improvements in the West must be accompanied policies the drive compliance in China and India.
I tend to agree with the idea that Biden should step aside. Chapman had a very good editorial on the same topic today. But I am very concerned about a candidate free-for-all because it is likely to disfavor a centrist, generate tons of fringe messages, and result in a generally weak primary winner. Rank order voting in primaries would fix that problem, or a strong party apparatus. I would prefer that he try to line up a strong 'favorite' rather than simply announce his decision. I also think that it is foolish to assume that the GOP candidate will be Trump or someone that is easily tagged as Trump 2.0.
"But I am very concerned about a candidate free-for-all because it is likely to disfavor a centrist, generate tons of fringe messages, and result in a generally weak primary winner."
Valid concern. Since Trump, there's been a lot of ink spilled about how the primary process structurally favors extremists. It's a wonderfully plausible theory with just one little flaw -- a near total lack of evidence, at least when we're talking about presidential races. It hasn't been true on the Democratic side. Consider the last six Democratic nominees: Biden, Hillary, Obama, Kerry, Gore, Bill Clinton. Not a left-winger, or any sort of extremist, among them. That list suggests that Democrats are willing to go out on a limb for young, super-talented politicians (Obama and Clinton, two-termers who look in retrospect like great choices) but are uninterested in nominating those, like Bernie Sanders, say, who advance a lefty message, however compellingly. The reason is obvious: primary voters are interested -- perhaps above all -- in electability. They want a winner and are accustomed to thinking strategically about that.
As for Republicans, I think they're the same way, Trump notwithstanding. Look at their last five before Trump: Romney, McCain, W., Dole, Bush -- once again, not an extremist in sight. You could argue that the GOP has changed inexorably, and there's a lot to that, but even in 2016, remember that the non-Trump vote was split among a bunch of really lackluster candidates and thus diluted. Yes, ranked-choice would have helped there. But if Republicans had simply recognized the Trump threat earlier and coalesced around one sane alternative, I think Trump would have lost and we'd all have been spared. And even now, conventional wisdom has it that Trump would be a loser again and lots of Republicans are telling pollsters they want someone else.
In any case, yes, Biden should certainly not run again, and Harris is, how shall I put it?, not good. I have no idea who should run in Biden's place. One advantage of our drawn-out primary process is that it really tests candidates, so, we'll have to wait and see. And while I appreciate your concern about the amplification of fringe messages in the process, the last primary was super wide-open, and, lest we forget, the Democrat still went on to win, unseating an incumbent enthusiastically beloved by his base.
Tesla has been using the subscription model for features and upgrades since it launched. I agree that it is a terrible idea for consumers. But with the erosion of new car sales from longer vehicle life, reduced maintenance requirements, ride sharing, car-sharing, and other new ideas, car companies are looking for new ways to grow revenue. It is possible to offer the subscription as a 'try before you buy' feature or as a way to enable options on a standard vehicle (cheaper to build) which a buyer can access at any time in the vehicle life. This is common in many electronic and software products. It is can also be thought of as a 'lease' for options on a purchased car.
Interesting. My first reaction was to join Zorn's BMW boycott, but how would we feel if the subscription model or pay-to-play features were framed as a discount, a way to save money and increase choice, rather than as added fees? In other words, this car "all-in" (use all the features whenever you want for as long as you own it, like a Tivo lifetime subscription) would cost $50,000. If you think, though, that you'll only seldom if ever use those features, you might choose the "base" car priced at, say, $43,000 with the option to hit up that extra range or use those heated seats, say, on occasion for a fee. In that world, for some reason, my outrage begins to dissipate, and I even feel like I'm in greater control. We do have this already in one area, very commonly -- satellite radio. Your car comes with the equipment but you have to pay to use it. As in that case, companies would likely offer free trial periods to get you hooked.
BMW just announced that they would probably use the subscription feature as a product offer that would allow you to use the cameras that are on the car for the driving assist features as recorders (sort of a super dash cam).
The idea that abortion laws will cause a major change in domestic migration trends is wishful thinking. The trends have been strongly to the south for a long time and dramatically so since 2019.
So the bad news is that the 'bad actors' will not be soundly and promptly punished. And the good news is that the demographics of the electorate in those states is changing and will likely see a shift towards the center. There are always people that are strongly motivated by individual aspects of places, but most are making a decision based on the aggregate of high importance factors.
You say that the Democrats need a presidential candidate that excites the base and independents. Most of us are independent because we reject the the left and right wings of both parties. A candidate that “ excites the base” is counterproductive to ridding us of the increasingly far right Republicans. For the sake of our democracy the Democrats need to quit cannibalizing their own and and support Biden and more moderate policies so they can win the middle.
Eric is spot on about checking quotes with people. It is common journalistic practice in non-"gotcha" stories. I did at the Tribune on many stories and have had journalists do it with me (because I ask) routinely. You want to get things right, not get people in trouble. On the other hand, in certain situations (say, interviewing politicians/corporate leaders who make a habit of saying nothing), you might not allow that. The word we're looking for here is "relationships."
The problem with the Webb space photos is that they're not real. The images are actually in black and white and then colorized. So, you're not really seeing what you would see with your own two eyes.
Not black and white but almost entirely out of the human visual spectrum. The telescope sees the actual difference in frequency and the colors are added. They are kind of real though, the reddish ones have "red shift" and it indicates a galaxy that is moving away from us very quickly, etc. It's as real as the light we can see with our eyes, just outside of what we can.
In other words, it would look like black and white to our eyes. Right?
You wouldn’t see anything, too far away. Maybe a few stars. The light waves are stretched so far they’re out of the visual spectrum. That’s what telescopes are for.
Enjoyed the Feder interview very much. Don't listen to the critics.
Check the math on the winning percentage for the Cubs. Looks like a typo (4 instead of 3).
Thanks for the catch. Fixed the mistake in the online version, but with email copies it's too late!
1. Thanks for the reasoning behind not supporting Biden. Couldn't agree more.
2. Was hoping I missread "Indiana" and that Kass had moved to India.
The real journalistic crime would have been not divulging that you let Feder review/edit quotes. Feder's contribution to Chicago journalism over the past few decades has been immeasurable, thanks for the exit interview w/his friends Steinberg & Zorn.
Like "The Galaxy Song;" dislike "From a Distance."
I was in the "journo" world in college (Sigma Delta Chi, etc.). In my experience there, most of the serious journalism students did seem to view interviews as gotcha opportunities. They lived to bring down powerful people, in some cases apparently simply because they were powerful.
It has also been my observation that most regular people, including me, who have ever been interviewed have found, when reading the final product, at least one misrepresentation of what they said to the interviewer. It is easy to paraphrase a comment and completely change the gist of it, either accidentally or on purpose.
There should be more of a focus on accuracy and truth, and less on gotcha.
Best list of tweets in a long time. Probably, the first time in a year that I checked off more than four. Well Done Eric..
I had the same thought while reading them.
Glad you found them amusing. The one about Pagliacci is one of the funniest yet most obscure tweets I've ever posted.
Too obscure for me and apparently most of your readeres.
One of the tweets begs a lot of questions. Just how easy IS shooting fish in a barrel? How big is the barrel? Does it have water in it? How much water? How many fish? Are they alive? How far away from the barrel are you when you're shooting? I feel like I should write a letter to Roseanne Roseannadanna under my pseudonym of Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey.
I always imagined a literal barrel of fish with no water. But as usual, I am confronted with many new ideas which I am forced to consider.
I read your newsletter today and immediately after it still took me five to get the Wordle.
I thought the Feder interview was excellent, even more so because he was allowed to edit his own words.
I like the Table of Contents w/links. I do scan the entire newsletter when I first open it and having the links to look at specific content afterwards is nice.
As someone who has been an enthusiastic amateur astronomer and photographer for the last 50 years, I have learned that the universe is a very colorful place. Even without a telescope, it’s apparent that the planet Mars and the star Antares are brilliant reds. With a short time exposure using only a normal camera, more colors appear, like the contrasting red and blue bright areas in Orion’s sword.
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye is quite small. The infrared portion, whose light the Webb telescope collects, is a lot wider. It encompasses a large number of wavelengths. The use of algorithms that add color to that data to help visualize what is out there in no way diminishes the “reality” of the photographs.
A picture of the “Stephan’s Quintet” of galaxies, shown in one of the photos from the new telescope, was used in the almost 80-year-old movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I took a screen grab of the old black-and-white picture from the movie, and made this video comparison with the brand new image.
https://youtu.be/2DUz-eyYlGA
Color enhancements aside, there’s no denying the huge technological strides that have allowed for much sharper detail and revealed many more objects than old earthbound telescopes. That’s as real as it gets.
Not an H. Walker fan or supporter. And his comments are profoundly muddled. However, there has been ample reporting on studies from as far back as 2010 (and repeatedly confirmed) that air pollution that originates in China quickly traverses the Pacific and has significantly increased pollution in California. In addition, the data on carbon emissions clearly show that climate change improvements in the US and Europe to-date (and in the future) have been totally overwhelmed by abatement failures in China and India. Continued improvements in the West must be accompanied policies the drive compliance in China and India.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/03/518323094/rise-in-smog-in-western-u-s-is-blamed-on-asias-air-pollution
https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-CJB-12022
https://www.treehugger.com/china-polluting-californias-air-4857698
I tend to agree with the idea that Biden should step aside. Chapman had a very good editorial on the same topic today. But I am very concerned about a candidate free-for-all because it is likely to disfavor a centrist, generate tons of fringe messages, and result in a generally weak primary winner. Rank order voting in primaries would fix that problem, or a strong party apparatus. I would prefer that he try to line up a strong 'favorite' rather than simply announce his decision. I also think that it is foolish to assume that the GOP candidate will be Trump or someone that is easily tagged as Trump 2.0.
"But I am very concerned about a candidate free-for-all because it is likely to disfavor a centrist, generate tons of fringe messages, and result in a generally weak primary winner."
Valid concern. Since Trump, there's been a lot of ink spilled about how the primary process structurally favors extremists. It's a wonderfully plausible theory with just one little flaw -- a near total lack of evidence, at least when we're talking about presidential races. It hasn't been true on the Democratic side. Consider the last six Democratic nominees: Biden, Hillary, Obama, Kerry, Gore, Bill Clinton. Not a left-winger, or any sort of extremist, among them. That list suggests that Democrats are willing to go out on a limb for young, super-talented politicians (Obama and Clinton, two-termers who look in retrospect like great choices) but are uninterested in nominating those, like Bernie Sanders, say, who advance a lefty message, however compellingly. The reason is obvious: primary voters are interested -- perhaps above all -- in electability. They want a winner and are accustomed to thinking strategically about that.
As for Republicans, I think they're the same way, Trump notwithstanding. Look at their last five before Trump: Romney, McCain, W., Dole, Bush -- once again, not an extremist in sight. You could argue that the GOP has changed inexorably, and there's a lot to that, but even in 2016, remember that the non-Trump vote was split among a bunch of really lackluster candidates and thus diluted. Yes, ranked-choice would have helped there. But if Republicans had simply recognized the Trump threat earlier and coalesced around one sane alternative, I think Trump would have lost and we'd all have been spared. And even now, conventional wisdom has it that Trump would be a loser again and lots of Republicans are telling pollsters they want someone else.
In any case, yes, Biden should certainly not run again, and Harris is, how shall I put it?, not good. I have no idea who should run in Biden's place. One advantage of our drawn-out primary process is that it really tests candidates, so, we'll have to wait and see. And while I appreciate your concern about the amplification of fringe messages in the process, the last primary was super wide-open, and, lest we forget, the Democrat still went on to win, unseating an incumbent enthusiastically beloved by his base.
Tesla has been using the subscription model for features and upgrades since it launched. I agree that it is a terrible idea for consumers. But with the erosion of new car sales from longer vehicle life, reduced maintenance requirements, ride sharing, car-sharing, and other new ideas, car companies are looking for new ways to grow revenue. It is possible to offer the subscription as a 'try before you buy' feature or as a way to enable options on a standard vehicle (cheaper to build) which a buyer can access at any time in the vehicle life. This is common in many electronic and software products. It is can also be thought of as a 'lease' for options on a purchased car.
Interesting. My first reaction was to join Zorn's BMW boycott, but how would we feel if the subscription model or pay-to-play features were framed as a discount, a way to save money and increase choice, rather than as added fees? In other words, this car "all-in" (use all the features whenever you want for as long as you own it, like a Tivo lifetime subscription) would cost $50,000. If you think, though, that you'll only seldom if ever use those features, you might choose the "base" car priced at, say, $43,000 with the option to hit up that extra range or use those heated seats, say, on occasion for a fee. In that world, for some reason, my outrage begins to dissipate, and I even feel like I'm in greater control. We do have this already in one area, very commonly -- satellite radio. Your car comes with the equipment but you have to pay to use it. As in that case, companies would likely offer free trial periods to get you hooked.
BMW just announced that they would probably use the subscription feature as a product offer that would allow you to use the cameras that are on the car for the driving assist features as recorders (sort of a super dash cam).
The idea that abortion laws will cause a major change in domestic migration trends is wishful thinking. The trends have been strongly to the south for a long time and dramatically so since 2019.
https://dailyinfographic.com/united-states-domestic-migration-2021
So the bad news is that the 'bad actors' will not be soundly and promptly punished. And the good news is that the demographics of the electorate in those states is changing and will likely see a shift towards the center. There are always people that are strongly motivated by individual aspects of places, but most are making a decision based on the aggregate of high importance factors.
You say that the Democrats need a presidential candidate that excites the base and independents. Most of us are independent because we reject the the left and right wings of both parties. A candidate that “ excites the base” is counterproductive to ridding us of the increasingly far right Republicans. For the sake of our democracy the Democrats need to quit cannibalizing their own and and support Biden and more moderate policies so they can win the middle.
Eric is spot on about checking quotes with people. It is common journalistic practice in non-"gotcha" stories. I did at the Tribune on many stories and have had journalists do it with me (because I ask) routinely. You want to get things right, not get people in trouble. On the other hand, in certain situations (say, interviewing politicians/corporate leaders who make a habit of saying nothing), you might not allow that. The word we're looking for here is "relationships."