Physical Attraction

I'm excited today to say that we have a guest on the show - Gemma Milne, who has written a book, Smoke and Mirrors, about how technological hype distorts the future. I really enjoyed the book, which deals with nine areas of considerable hype in technology, and not only takes you through some of the fascinating near-term applications for these technologies but also grounds them in reality. It was a fascinating conversation that I'm glad to be able to present you with. You can find more of her work on Twitter @gemmamilne or on her website at www.gemmamilne.co.uk and you can listen to the newly relaunched Science:Disrupt podcast, which has a recent episode about science communication in the age of coronavirus, which is obviously extremely topical.

As for us, you can find the show at physicspodcast.com where you'll find all of our past episodes and a contact form. You can send any questions, comments, concerns, episode ideas, people you'd like me to interview that way - it always makes my day to get communication from you guys so do send it over. You can follow us on the web @physicspod or the Facebook page, Physical Attraction. There's also a Patreon which I really need to use more which you can donate to, and a paypal link for one-off donations if you want to support what I do; we are and remain totally independent and solo, a passion project for me, and anything you can do to support us from telling your friends to listen to the show, to reviewing the show on various platforms, to sending us advice or encouragement, is all greatly appreciated. We have some more interviews in the pipeline for you that will be out soon. Our theme music is by melodysheep and used with kind permission. Until next time, then, take care.

For the masochists who apparently can't get enough content about the coronavirus: => An interview with my friend who participated in the vaccine trials => Some discussion of the risk factors that are associated with deaths from COVID-19 => Updated discussion of "herd immunity" thresholds and the link between R0 and immunity fractions => Reports on serological testing that has taken place so far.

N/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on.

====================================== We've outlined a nexus between catastrophic risks, inequality, and accelerating developments in technology in the future. Is there a way out of the mire? Part IV in a series on Technology, Inequality, and global catastrophic risks.

Given that we are in the midst of a series on technology, inequality, and global catastrophic risks inspired by Walter Scheidel's book on these subjects, and he's just written an op-ed on the topic, I thought I'd release the op-ed as a bonus.

In this, the last of our short series of coronavirus updates, I will be telling you everything I've found out about the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine - when we can expect it to be ready, the testing that needs to be undergone, and some of the techniques that might be used. With thanks to Derek Lowe of Science Magazine whose blog post on this I used as a main source for many of the details.

In the latest coronavirus episode, we discuss research that has been done into the viable exit strategies from lockdown, including the idea of a contact-tracing app, and discuss some early estimates as to how effective this might be and what would be required to make it a success.

Some further updates in the latest therapy session/ramble: - Discussion of the various models that have been used to try to predict the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

- Discussion of scientific uncertainty (and the importance of doing science anyway) - Concerns surrounding the politicisation of science...

- And some discussion of drug trials for antiviral treatments for coronavirus.

The first of a few quick episodes where I continue going into coronavirus therapy by ranting on to you about all of the things I've learned about the current epidemic... with references to scientific papers so you can read them and find out how wrong I was. We discuss:

• Estimates for the rate of disease progression in different countries
• Results from the early serology (antibody) tests of the virus (sadly still thin on the ground)
• Why Bayes' theorem means that the accuracy of antibody tests is so important

N/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on.

====================================== Increasing dependence on algorithms and other, more speculative developments in technology can serve to accelerate and exacerbate inequalities within society, potentially lining them up to be far more susceptible to catastrophic risks.

N/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on.

====================================== Inequality tends to increase unless there's a catastrophe. Does technology help us - either in addressing catastrophes, or in reducing inequalities?