I introduce the "Scary Virus Paradox":
"After clearing a threshold, the less deadly a virus is, the more it will kill."
(Deadliness here defined as R0 * IFR)
(log-log graph)
This is obviously caused by society's reaction: the deadlier a virus, the scarier, and the more society acts in unison against it, like for Ebola or SARS.
Nobody cares (cared?) about the flu, so it kills ~350k ppl a year.
Measles antivaxxers, covidiots, antimaskers and the like are therefore a predictable reaction to a virus' deadliness.
This has not always been true. In the past, the deadlier a virus was, the more it killed. Smallpox is a perfect example.
But as we learned about medicine and epidemiology, we figured out how to tame the deadliest viruses. The ones that still kill, thus, kill in part because we don't pay as much attention to them.
These are not the only factors. We do pay attention to the flu, but its fast mutation means common vaccine evasion. Lots of animals also have the flu, so it's nearly impossible to eradicate.
But we could probably do a better job at stopping it. If it killed 100x, we would.
Massive floods across the Western world. What pattern do you see?
1. Massive floods in Vienna, carrying cars and everything else on its path.
The Danube is mostly embanked, no floodplains
2. Budapest is underwater
The city is also built on the Danube's floodplain. In fact, most of the Danube has embankments, and the floodplains and dams upstream are not enough to absorb all the water
3. Flood disaster in Głuchołazy, Poland, worst one in 100 years. Why? Because the river is fully embanked, has no floodplains anymore, and goes through the middle of the city
One event made these things possible:
Roman civilization
Industrial Revolution
The oil wealth of Arab countries
Russia's invasions
The Mongol Empire
Globalization
Southern Europe richer than Northern Africa
And more
What was it?
The death of an ocean
I'm super excited about this! AFAIK, nobody has put all these facts together. You're learning about it here 1st!
To understand what happened, we need to start in this region of the world. Do you notice something special?
1. SEAS
It has plenty of huge inland seas! Notice how we can't find such seas anywhere else in the world*
The Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caspian, Aral and Red Seas (and the Persian Gulf) are all in the same area, either cut off from oceans or connected by very narrow passes.
I've been banging my head on a pbm and I need help, Twitter
Why are there huge dunes on some coasts and not others?
You have dunes like these ones in the Namib desert in Namibia. Why? How do they form? Why only here?
I'll update this thread as I get answers!
Apparently strong, dry winds blow from the interior towards the Atlantic ocean, accumulating the sand. As it accumulates, it blows or falls into the ocean, creating these huge slopes. OK.
You can even see these dunes in the satellite
The obvious question becomes: Why just there and not elsewhere on the Namib desert coast?